Heat Treat farce

Bos is good, Jarod Todd is good and Peters is good. I do my own now, but if I want to do a larger run, I will probably send it out to save on the time, foil and nitrogen costs!
 
jtwodogs said:
My blades were sent to tru grit before last January before Mutz departure. I guess this was part of his end days were he was jacking up blades and pushing them out.
Scott from tru grit said they were still getting calls after he left. People were upset that they had sent blades to his home never to hear back from him.

On a side note I do remember when I got the blades back I file tested a couple and question the ht. Since I didn't have a hardness tester I called Mutz, and question him. He assured me all blades were tested and met my desire of 60-61 RCt
Click to expand...
 
Taz said:
Bos is good, Jarod Todd is good and Peters is good. I do my own now, but if I want to do a larger run, I will probably send it out to save on the time, foil and nitrogen costs!
Click to expand...
Jarod Todd I think is only taking large orders now last time I checked
 
jtwodogs said:
While I know this is blade smithing heiresy.
Took one of the blades I already handled and finished that wouldn't take an edge. Submersed the handle in ice water took a propane torch and heated the blade edge till cherry red. Then submersed the edge in peanut oil.
Went through the sharpening process. It's a razor.
While I know without proper tempering it will never make it to the field, but it will be a good kitchen knife.
Click to expand...
The problem with what I did is there is no retention. I pretty sure AEB-L needs to soak awhile
 
Jarod is back up and running fully. He does a discounted service with just a snap temper on it or the full deal for a few more bucks a blade.
 
David Mary said:
img_6994-jpeg.3025568
Click to expand...
David, as a metalhead, I absolutely love this photo. So cool!
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
The oven will break down the epoxy easily. After baking at 300°F for an hour or so, a sharp knife inserted between the tang and scale should lift it right of. Wear gloves, of course. It may smell, so using a junk toaster oven outside is wise. Depending on the type of epoxy, boiling may not loosen the scales, but it won't hurt to try. I think you will need to boil the handles for at least 30-45 minutes.

As moderator here and advisor to a lot of folks asking questions about where to get HT done, I want to find out more about the situation with Tru-Grit and these HT fiascos.
I have done some online research and was shocked to see that this is a big problem. AI searches are not kind at all to Tru-Grit over this issue. It seems Tru-Grit isn't taking any responsibility at all. They discontinued their HT business in January and just tell people to contact Jeff Mutz to find out where their blades are. This is shockingly bad business behavior.
Two Questions for those who have had blades done by Tru-Grit:
1) Were the blades mailed to Tru-Grit or to Jeff Mutz directly?
2) If the services were paid for, did you pay Tru-Grit or Jeff Mutz?
Click to expand...
My experience was many years ago. Sent to trugrit but I believe attn: to Mutz. Inquiries were forwarded "to the shop". They'd told me the heat treat was done by Mutz separate from Tru grit formally, but at the time the service was offered through Tru Grit. I can't recall how I paid.

such a bad experience that it prompted me to make a single burner forge and then get my own ovens. So in the end, probably a great thing that moved me along on my journey but very upsetting at the time as a new maker.
 
What confounds me is how Tru-Grit feels it is not responsible. They advertised the service, contracted Mutz as an employee, and as far as I understand, received the payments.
If you took your car to the dealership and the mechanic took it home to work on and never brought it back, would anyone think it was not the dealerships responsibility??? I'm amazed that they haven't been sued over this.

I understand that in HTing knife blades things happen. Blades get sent back unhardened, blades get mixed up and sent to the wrong person, Blades get put in the wrong batch and are not processed at the right temperatures, and HT goes bad. I have had these issues from Peters, D'Alton Holder, and other HTers. They all took care of the issue as soon as it was discovered. One reason I do small batches and single blades myself is to avoid such problems. In large batches of 100 blades, it is more economical to get Peters or JT to do it.

I have always thought that Tru-Grit was a good company. However, I will not recommend them anymore for supplies with this type of corporate behavior. If someone from Tru-Grit wants to call or email me and explains what is happening I would be glad to hear their side.

True Story:
About 25 years ago, I sent D'Alton Holder a batch of 15 blades. They were my normal hunters and fillet blades. He had done other batches for me before. They normally came back in a week or two, so after several months I contacted him. They came back a few days later. When I unwrapped them, I realized they were not hardened. I contacted DH and sent them back. He apologized and did the HT right away. When they came back, 14 were mine and 1 was a huge (and very nice) bowie. The makers mark was XYZ (a famous knifemaker). I could have owned a $20,000 knife if I was dishonest. I called him immediately about the blade and he said, "I've been looking everywhere for that blade". I sent it back and he said he would look for my blade. He never found it. A year or more later, I got a package with the blade. He found it in the bottom of the cryo tank. Probably the worlds longest cryo treatment. The point is that things happen, but honest communication can preserve a good business relationship.
 
I know things sometimes just happen.I am now retired, on a fixed income and my wife has MS. Im not saying this to garner sympathy.
I do feel with all that's happened with my stuff, he very well could have been acting maliciously. I can't afford that. I don't make any money after materials and time and HT. This was a hobby at best that was going to fund itself. That's why it's hard for me to tolerate dishonesty and non-action from those involved
 
Last edited:
Some prime examples here of the "guilty until proven innocent" society we live in today.

I have no dog in the fight but one anecdotal account and you guys are ready to burn Tru-Grit at the stake. And someone thinks they're some kind of authority wherein 'If Tru-Grit can explain to his majesty their side' , he *might* reverse his "sentence". :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Maybe its true. And maybe there's more to it. There are two sides to every story. And I bet none of you reached out to Tru-Grit for theirs.
 
John,
I think you are mistaking my post. I was going on multiple online and direct experiences about this situation with Jeff Mutz, not one complaint. Search it online and you will see it is a bigger issue than just here. If you read all the posts here and in other forums, it is clear this is not an anecdotal account. Tru-Grit ceased relations with Jeff and does not claim any part of his work as their responsibility. That is not anecdotal. This is from their website:

"As of January 1st we are no longer offering heat treating services. If you currently have blades in for heat treating, you can check the status by contacting Jeff Mutz at jmutzknives @ gmail.com Phone # 909-559-7129. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. Thank you for your understanding."

An AI search gives this:
Tru-Grit Heat Treatment - Ceased offering heat treating services
Tru Grit has ceased offering heat treating services as of January 1st. Customers are advised to check the status of their blades by contacting Jeff Mutz directly at jmutzknives@gmail.com or by calling 909-559-7129. Many users have reported poor customer service experiences, with long wait times and unresponsive communication regarding the status of their heat treated blades.

I was not passing sentence as His Majesty, just asking a question about Tru-Grit's responses from people who had used them, and who was paid. My offer to hear the other side was made because I am sure people at Tru-Grit see posts about them online.

Final - you said that no one reached out to Tru-Grit about this. This thread (and others) has reports from several people who have repeatedly called and were told the it wasn't Tru-Grit's problem ... call Jeff.

I'm only here to help others. Sorry you don't see it that way.
 
I sent a batch to Peters for the first time and they're on the way back, I'll have to let you know how that goes so that hopefully I can provide some insight!
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
John,
I think you are mistaking my post. I was going on multiple online and direct experiences about this situation with Jeff Mutz, not one complaint. Search it online and you will see it is a bigger issue than just here. If you read all the posts here and in other forums, it is clear this is not an anecdotal account. Tru-Grit ceased relations with Jeff and does not claim any part of his work as their responsibility. That is not anecdotal. This is from their website:

"As of January 1st we are no longer offering heat treating services. If you currently have blades in for heat treating, you can check the status by contacting Jeff Mutz at jmutzknives @ gmail.com Phone # 909-559-7129. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. Thank you for your understanding."

An AI search gives this:
Tru-Grit Heat Treatment - Ceased offering heat treating services
Tru Grit has ceased offering heat treating services as of January 1st. Customers are advised to check the status of their blades by contacting Jeff Mutz directly at jmutzknives@gmail.com or by calling 909-559-7129. Many users have reported poor customer service experiences, with long wait times and unresponsive communication regarding the status of their heat treated blades.

I was not passing sentence as His Majesty, just asking a question about Tru-Grit's responses from people who had used them, and who was paid. My offer to hear the other side was made because I am sure people at Tru-Grit see posts about them online.

Final - you said that no one reached out to Tru-Grit about this. This thread (and others) has reports from several people who have repeatedly called and were told the it wasn't Tru-Grit's problem ... call Jeff.

I'm only here to help others. Sorry you don't see it that way.
Click to expand...
Let it go, you are not helping.

Hoss
 
Due to evidence from multiple users, Tru-Grit's own statements, and a consistent patterns of issues, his call for accountability is justified.
 
David Mary said:
Due to evidence from multiple users, Tru-Grit's own statements, and a consistent patterns of issues, his call for accountability is justified.
Click to expand...
Jeff Mutz is the problem not Tru-Grit.

Every heat treater that I know has had problems in the past. We can dog pile on any of them and stir things up. I don’t think it will help.

Tru-Grit is a good business, let’s support them.

Stacy has repeated himself a few times now. Let it go.

Hoss
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top