edge thickness before HT?

P

pso

Joined
Oct 29, 1998
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494
Hello

I have seen suggestions to leave the edge about 1/16 inch thick prior to heat treating, then grind down to the final thickness. What is the thinnest that I can go to without risk of cracking etc when quenching? I am doing everything by hand, i.e. files. I am also using material that is 1/16 inch thick to begin with. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Phil
 
On this thin of stock i would just take about half the thickness off then heat treat and finish.Me personally when I am using stock this thin,I will profile then heat treat then grind it slow and cool.
Bruce
 
That thin you could HT the profiled blank, then grind your bevels.. Paul Bos tells me guys send him profiled un-ground knives all the time..
Depending on the material and tempering range you can get it pretty hot before you do anything adverse..

Take Care
Trace Rinaldi
www.thrblades.com
 
If you're working with files, you'd better get everything as close to finished as you can before HT, because afterwards your file will just slide across the steel.

Dave
 
Given that you are working with files and have material that is just 1/16 thick your primary bevel will probably be fairly short. If you're heat treating the blade with a torch work the mass of the blade first and let the heat run to the edge, then heat evenly until nonmagnetic and quench in warm oil. I think cracking has more to do with uneven grind, uneven heat, or cold quench.
 
I'm doing a knife and I'm doing it entirely by hand.
The only two phases when a power tool was involved was during cutting the blade out of the stainless damascus slab and making holes with a power drill.
Now: if I work the blade till it's 1/16, then heat treat it, I'll have to work with files on a hardened surface.
This means spoiling completely the files without achieving much...
What should I do?
Should I work with sandpaper on a block after heat treating doing all the finishing work with sandpaper?
It should bite well into hardened steel...
 
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