Grind after heat treat? A novice asks...

[Ferret]

I'm starting to see there might be advantages to grinding after heat treating...who works this way? Is grinding the blade after HT that much more of a pain? Is the extra effort worth it? TIA

 

[Bill Siegle]

I rough grind then HT. I then grind down to finished dimensions. I do this to avoid overheating thin edges during HT.I've found that it helps with acuracy too as the work goes a little slower. Just use newer belts and watch for any heat build up.

 

[Brad Duncan]

I used to grind and then heat treat.I now drill then heat treat and then grind.I will never go back.
Brad

 

[Ferret]

Thanks, I suspected as much. I'll try profile and drill then HT on the next blade.

 

[L6steel]

Ferret, be sure you have the right belts before you start grinding harened blades. I tried it with my usual aluminum oxide belts and it just doesn't work. It was suggested to me by another maker that grinds hardened blades that I use 3M Cubitron belts from James Poplin. Soon as I can thats the way I'm going.

 

[Peter Atwood]

This is an issue that is coming up for me as well. It seems like it is very hard to grind off the scale and still maintain flatness of the blade after heat treat if you've already ground the blade out. I will give it a try the other way.

 

[Bruce Evans]

I profile then grind to about 3,4 of the finished bevels then heat treat and then go back and put the finish grind on,I wont go back to the old ways no more
One advantage to this is that if you get a small warp during heat treat that you didn't get straightened out quick enough,You can just re-flatten the flats and carfully grind the warp out and save the blade...
Bruce