Recommendation? Heat treat tapered tang and distal taper

[Alex T.]

Hi all, I am facing a dilemma here. I want to make a chef knife wich will have a tapered tang and a distal taper out of 440C. I know it would be best to do the grinding post HT to avoid warping, BUT I want to put filework all over the spine and handle. Would it be possible to do the filework poat heat treat with sanding drums of a dremel (If yes, will it take an eternity to do?) or should I take the risk of the blade severely warping and file work before HT? I do not do the HT myself as of now for the stainless. I know that 440C is HT with plates, but since there will be no parallele flat surface I am afraid it will severely warp...

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

For a build like yours, do the distal taper and the file work before HT. After HT, touch it up with diamond burs/files and Cratex wheels. Do the main bevels and other work after HT.

 

[Alex T.]

Thank you, I will do this.