mdoyle, buford, you must be hobby makers. As a full timer, there is no way I could take the extra time to keep a blade cool while grinding it. I keep them cooler than some. A very prolific maker years ago stated that red hot steel is much easier to grind, and he stated that he could finish the average blade, from bar stock in fifteen, or twenty minutes average, ready to heat treat. His work was quality, not junk.I am not near than fast. It takes me maybe an hour and a half to do a six, or seven inch blade ready to heat teat, after profiling, drilling, and surface prep. I'm not bragging at all, most pro's are much faster than that. A normalizing prep most often takes care of warpage problems, and there are a few tricks to correct noticible warpage after the tempering is done and even immediatly after quench. Both take less time than babying a piece of steel, while trying to transform it to a useful tool.
