First knife, forgot to do second tempering cycle

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Oct 26, 2015
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So, I made my first knife. The quality of the steel is already questionable as I just used a flat pry bar with then ends cut off. I heated up just passed magnetic and quenched in canola oil. File test went successfully so I was happy enough with that. I must have misread some information somewhere and tempered it at 350 for 2 hours and let it air cool. Somehow I either forgot to run a second temper cycle or the information I read didn't call for a second cycle, either way the end result is since I joined today and read through several posts I noticed that I definitely did the tempering wrong? I would rectify the issue, however I already have the handle scales epoxied on and curing. I did put an edge on it and it seems to be holding the edge pretty well, it slices through phone book paper smoothly and easily. Before prepping and putting the scales on I tested it a bit by chopping on some wood for awhile with no adverse effects on the edge or blade. So, I guess the question is, how much will the improper tempering hurt the overall strength of the blade or is it just impossible to tell?



On a side note, once I get home, shape the handle, and do the finishing work to the blade I plan on posting pictures of it for input and suggestions on improvements in later attempts.
 
If the handle is still curing, I would pull it apart, clean the epoxy off, and temper it again.
 
I had thought about that, however, by the time I get home it will have been curing for 20+ hours so I'm not sure how easily I'd be able to pull it apart. It's worth a shot though.
 
If you heat it up a little epoxy will come apart. I put one in a 170 degree oven then used a heat gun on it a little and saved the wooden scales and mosaic pin - after several days. Learned this from another recent thread - it works.
 
While a second temper is good, you will be fine with what you did. It isn't worth tearing the knife apart for a second temper, now. The gain would be minimal in most steels that are used for a pry bar.
 
Thanks Stacy, that gives me some piece of mind.
I appreciate everyone's responses here.
Here was the resulting knife.
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uHQ9Ccv.jpg

Spine looks crappy yet, I may need to do a bit more finish work on that.
 
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