Well, now ... let's not all just jump right in and reply, OK?
Since I suggested fulloflead bring this thread over to the Camillus forum, I'll ask a couple specific questions.
Ever since Cliff Stamp's review of the BK9 (
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/becker_combat_bowie.html ) I imagine some have wondered if this should be expected performance for BK&T knives. (Warning: the following image is graphic in nature, and may be inappropriate for some knife-knut viewers):
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/images/becker_combat_bowie_damaged.jpg
So, my first question is: Has anything been changed in the heat treatment or manufacture of Becker knives, and/or the BK9 specifically, to improve toughness, and reduce the likelihood of brittle failure like that seen with the example which Cliff tested?
Secondly -- and for me, this is mostly just curiosity, and not something I'd necessarily ever care to act upon -- I was hoping Will or Ethan could offer some insights for anyone wishing to retemper a BK&T to make it (hopefully) a bit softer, and therefore tougher. Jeff Clark suggested a reasonable range of temperatures, but perhaps someone could offer something more specific. For example, one reference I have shows that if you draw the temper of 1095 at 500°F, you achieve an approximate Rc of 59; at 550°F, you drop to ~57 Rc, 600° pushes it down to ~55 Rc, and so on. Any such numbers available for 0170-6C? Even just knowing a bit about the Becker factory heat treat and tempering would be informative.
Finally, my assumption would be that the BK&T epoxy coating would likely not survive at these temperatures. True?
