Heat question

[Futz Brown]

I think today is the day I start getting into my A2 and making my first real knife. But, while I figure out a file jig I figure I'll ask you guys one last thing before I touch the nice steel.

Does getting the steel hot, before the heat treat, cause any damage that could preventing it from being all it could? When doing my home depot steel knives (if you wanna call them that) the metal would get hot from the angle grinder and I'd dunk it in water. Before I do something like that with the A2 I want to make sure it won't mess up my steel.

Thanks.

 

[mete]

When it's too hot to hold just dunk it in water ! After it's heat treated is the time to be careful -dunk it more often

 

[Patrickknives]

Ditto, remember that A2 is a air quench, that means you can get it nearly finished prior to heat treat, that way you will only have some hand sanding to do and no grinding, this will prevent ruining your temper.

 

[Futz Brown]

Thanks pat. You've been a real help. Do you know of any reading/watching pertaining specifically to working A2? I chose it because I have never handled it before and I hear it's nice, so I wanted to check it out.

 

[Drew Riley]

heating the blade while working prior to heat treat won't harm it. It's raising the blade above the temperature that it was tempered at (AFTER heat treat) that you have to worry about. I.E., if you temper a blade a 400F, don't get the steel hotter than that while finishing.