Forgot Jimping before HT

B

Benjamin Arthur

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Mar 30, 2021
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Hey everyone, first post here, in a bit of a crisis trying to finish six knives for buds before my hunting trip. Sorry if this is repeat, I looked for threads with a good answer but I couldn't find what I need. I'm using 1080 and plan to acid etch and stonewash the blades. Two of my blades I forgot to add the Jimping before the HT. My question is which of these are my best option, or do you have any better suggestions?

1. Anneal them entirely, add the Jimping, and HT again.
2. Wrap the blade in a wet cloth exposing only where the Jimping will go and anneal that with a spot torch. (will this affect the acid etch?)
 
In my opinion...... as to myself. If I could choose one with or without. I Do Not like jimping. I would leave it off.

I certainly wouldn't mess around with the re heat treatment.

So my order of action would be.....

1. Enjoy them as they are.
2. Completely remake them with jimping, if that is your thing.
3. Add the marks with a small diamond file.


*Welcome, here on BF
 
Crag the Brewer said:
In my opinion...... as to myself. If I could choose one with or without. I Do Not like jimping. I would leave it off.

I certainly wouldn't mess around with the re heat treatment.

So my order of action would be.....

1. Enjoy them as they are.
2. Completely remake them with jimping, if that is your thing.
3. Add the marks with a small diamond file.


*Welcome, here on BF
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Thanks Crag, I'm glad you shared and I think you're right. The HT was perfect and I really don't want to mess these up, I think I'll make these two without Jimping and hope a couple of the guys prefer them that way. I was planning to use the Jimping as a way to separate the handle from the blade so the spine of the blade can keep the stonewash. Not sure what I'll do on these two.

Also I am still wondering how the differential heat treat would affect acid etching and stonewash finish if I were to anneal part of the blade, if anyone has an answer.
 
Hitting that spot with a torch will ruin any uniformity during your etch.

If it were me, I would:
Use my 1/4” small wheel and add either large jimping up top, or angle the knife and use the small wheel to add alternating divots, almost like filework but larger, which would serve the purpose of jimping

Of course this all assumes you have a 1/4” small wheel.
 
If you anneal it will be visible, as your etch will take differently on that area. Cliff has a really good answer. I’d also offer that you can use the very thin Dremel tool cutoff wheels and carefully notch out your gimping. You may not achieve 20 LPI, but with careful layout & a steady hand I bet you can get close.
 
Cliff Carter Knives said:
Hitting that spot with a torch will ruin any uniformity during your etch.

If it were me, I would:
Use my 1/4” small wheel and add either large jimping up top, or angle the knife and use the small wheel to add alternating divots, almost like filework but larger, which would serve the purpose of jimping

Of course this all assumes you have a 1/4” small wheel.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty new and still on starter tools, just a HF 1x30 right now. I do have a dremel with little cutoff wheels I could maybe use though and hopefully not mess it up too bad. Might give that a shot if I can't live with keeping them as is
 
There is a good example of heating the spine and etching in the fixed blade for sale section, look for the cpm3v knife
 
You can always use diamond needle files. Careful layout and an even hand with plenty of light.
 
I once saw my friend making the jimping on a hardened knife with a Dremel and abrasive disc. He did it perfectly spaced and uniformly deep. If you have a good eye and sturdy hand you can do it this way, or with a diamond file. I wouldn't mess with ht . If it's really required I would practice a few times on a scrap piece and then do it with a Dremel. If it's not so important I would just skipp them.
 
I've got a flexible shaft attached to my Dremel, so if it were me, and I wanted jimping (which I don't, i'm with Crag the Brewer Crag the Brewer ), i'd figure out a way to clamp the flex shaft down and make a gig.

Kinda like a bench grinder with a flat surface where I could test the knife. Doing this kinda stuff free hand is just asking for a mess.

Some folks can do it I'm sure, but I'm not one of them!
 
It can be done with electro etching, too. Easy and fast. But why bother anyways. Jimpings are so 20' century. Weak spots. Crack initiation spots. Hard to clean. And most of them are painful when pushed hard. It has a cool factor and nothing else.
 
JoeBusic said:
It can be done with electro etching, too. Easy and fast. But why bother anyways. Jimpings are so 20' century. Weak spots. Crack initiation spots. Hard to clean. And most of them are painful when pushed hard. It has a cool factor and nothing else.
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Joe,
I am not a year old with the blade sickness and do not have the depth to approximate the knowledge of most blade collectors, let alone, smiths; So, jimping seems to be deeper than the checkering that I have seen. Deep groves across the spine, is how I would describe jimping. I have some inspiration to checker parts of my blade. I bought a checkering file and the familiarizing that I have done on wood is very shallow (20 tpi).
I am not even crystal clear on how far the blade should be before HT. Is the sharp V more prone to failure than a U type cut into the blade material?
 
Judcargile said:
Is the sharp V more prone to failure than a U type cut into the blade material?
Click to expand...
Yes. V is susceptible to vibrations so batoning is to be avoided. U if not too small can withstand some batoning but high lateral force will make it a weak spot. Jimpings are for cutters only. Still don't see the point. Crowning feels way better.
 
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