Edge Thickness Pre-HT

Stark Knives

Stark Knives

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Mar 19, 2010
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Generally speaking, how thick should the edge of the knife be before sending to heat treat? I've heard anywhere from 2mm to .5mm.

Should I leave a kitchen knife thicker before HT than an EDC/bushcraft knife?
 
A kitchen knife should be around 1/3 the thickness of a dime before HT is what I have been told. About the thickness of a nickel for a bushcraft knife before HT.
 
How thick an edge should be before H/T depends more on the steel than the type of knife.Also depends on the type of equipment you have to work on the knife after.
On carbon steels .030-.040 is good and on stainless steels .015-.020.On blades 3/32 and thinnner I grind after H/T.

Stan
 
I used to use the .030-.040 for carbon steel and .-20 for stainless steel as a rule. Now I go far thinner. I take carbon to about .025" and stainless steel to about .-10-.015". The change is due to better HT equipment. If you are using a non-controlled HT or simple equipment, thicker adds some resistance to edge ripple and warp. If sending to a place like Peter's HT, the edge can be almost ready to sharpen for a good grade of stainless steel ( like CPM-S35VN).
 
Thanks, I was planning on using 52100 steel and sending it to Peter's. I think I'll shoot for around .03-2. I'm assuming you're working in inches right?
 
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