Furnace - What do you use to hold the knives?

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Fiddleback

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I've got a Paragon furnace. I've gone through several firebricks trying to rig something to hold the knives edge up in there. They've always broken after a few uses. What do y'all use? Is there anything decent that won't go cracking right away on me?
 
THats what I'm looking for. The measurements aren't on it though. Anybody know those measurements?
 
You can also make a simple rack by just cutting slots into the angle of a piece of angle iron. Put the two legs down so that it makes an upside down V and then cut slots into the point section....viola! Easy and cheap!

-d
 
I have a Paragon furnace. To keep the knives standing edge up during heat treat, I use a fire brick and drilled holes in it, then placed 4 inch nails in the holes. I cut the nails in half so that the nails are only high enough to keep the blades standing up.

I have had no problems with the nails over the years. They tend to swell up after a couple of firings as they become carbonized, but they have stood up to repeated use for years.
 
The smaller fixture will fit inside a 6.5" wide by 4.5" tall oven (the KH EvenHeats). The larger fixture will fit inside a 10" wide by 6.5" tall oven (the KF series). I think the fixture only stands about 2" tall (maybe 3" max).

--nathan
 
I used a masonary blade in a skill saw and cut slots in a fire brick. It broke cross wise after a year, but i just keep the two halves together. Simple, effective.
 
Easy Cheap
I used a piece of flat bar SS drilled a series of holes and countersunk them so Flat head screws sit flat. Put in a bunch of screws I had sitting around and secured them with nuts. Makes essentially the same thing only far less expensive.
 
I usually HT one knife at a time, this keeps me from messing things up. For this purpose I welded 2 pieces of 1/8" SS pieces as sides, on top of 1/4" SS bar. It served me well about 20 knives and will serve maybe 200 more... If wanted one can weld as many side bars next to eachother for multiple knife HT's...
DSC01678.JPG


Emre
 
Like Nathan, I use the (smaller) one that Tracy sells. I highly recommend it... and am thinking about getting another one to put cooling blades in after stress relief cycles. Great tool.:thumbup:

Erin
 
These all look like serviceable solutions. I've been using soft firebrick I make a grove in with a hand saw. Do you guys use the PBC antiscale powder? How does you knife HT stand hold up to it? Does a blade covered with it remove from the stand OK? It often sticks to the softfire brick I've been using.
 
the evenheat knife holders are nothing but a piece of TILE, yes tile which are about 1/4" or 3/8" thick or so! (don't have my kiln in my office :D) with no glaze and some holes drilled into them which ceramic rods sit it holding the blade on edge. I bought two of them a few months back and they work great, but i think you could do better with the $40 bucks + shipping they cost !
 
Leu Custom said:
the evenheat knife holders are nothing but a piece of TILE, yes tile which are about 1/4" or 3/8" thick or so! (don't have my kiln in my office :D) with no glaze and some holes drilled into them which ceramic rods sit it holding the blade on edge. I bought two of them a few months back and they work great, but i think you could do better with the $40 bucks + shipping they cost !
Click to expand...

Really?... I have the smaller one that Tracy sells and it is 1/2" thick. And if by "TILE" you mean a rectangle of ceramic, then yes, it is a tile. So are the things that go on the space shuttle. I'd also like to add that the $40+shipping you quoted is for two of the smaller units. I don't think $20 (+shipping) seems too unreasonable... but that's just my opinion.

Erin
 
Take a chunk of garage door spring, heat it in the forge and stretch it until the turns are about 3/8" apart, then cut off about 4 inches and weld the ends to a small 1/8" thick plate. Cheap and easy. The only draw back is you have to set it at an angle in the kiln due to the turns spiraling.

Jim Arbuckle
 
I just got a Stainless welding rod and bent it to make a slot for a knife and then bent it so it would stand up strait. nothing fancy here.
 
Erin Burke said:
Really?... I have the smaller one that Tracy sells and it is 1/2" thick. And if by "TILE" you mean a rectangle of ceramic, then yes, it is a tile. So are the things that go on the space shuttle. I'd also like to add that the $40+shipping you quoted is for two of the smaller units. I don't think $20 (+shipping) seems too unreasonable... but that's just my opinion.

Erin
Click to expand...

1/2" thick ! Oh right. i'm a dumbass ! :D Again, kinda estimated without looking at the actual unit (which is in my kiln). Oh right and $40.00 is for two ! My bad.

I just know as smart as you guys are, you could make one for probably close to nothing if you just knew what it was made of.

Yes, ceramic tile !
 
I called Tracy got the measurements and ordered one of his. We'll see how it lasts.

deker said:
You can also make a simple rack by just cutting slots into the angle of a piece of angle iron. Put the two legs down so that it makes an upside down V and then cut slots into the point section....viola! Easy and cheap!

-d
Click to expand...

This I like. Thats easy and cheap, just as you say.

Bufford said:
I have a Paragon furnace. To keep the knives standing edge up during heat treat, I use a fire brick and drilled holes in it, then placed 4 inch nails in the holes. I cut the nails in half so that the nails are only high enough to keep the blades standing up.

I have had no problems with the nails over the years. They tend to swell up after a couple of firings as they become carbonized, but they have stood up to repeated use for years.
Click to expand...

LRB said:
I used a masonary blade in a skill saw and cut slots in a fire brick. It broke cross wise after a year, but i just keep the two halves together. Simple, effective.
Click to expand...

My problem is that I'm full time, and heat treating as many knives as I do this doesn't last but about a month. And I'm tired of re-doing both of these strategies and having to continually order firebricks for it.

TheArizonaKidd.com said:
Easy Cheap
I used a piece of flat bar SS drilled a series of holes and countersunk them so Flat head screws sit flat. Put in a bunch of screws I had sitting around and secured them with nuts. Makes essentially the same thing only far less expensive.
Click to expand...

Not bad. I like this, but the angle iron idea would be easier.

DAMNENG said:
Take a chunk of garage door spring, heat it in the forge and stretch it until the turns are about 3/8" apart, then cut off about 4 inches and weld the ends to a small 1/8" thick plate. Cheap and easy. The only draw back is you have to set it at an angle in the kiln due to the turns spiraling.

Jim Arbuckle
Click to expand...

Now this is a neato idea.

Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to give Tracy's product a try, and if it doesn't work I'll be moving to one of these strategies.
 
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