Heat treatement on a cheapie.

C

cybrok

Joined
Aug 7, 2005
Messages
4,741
Hi guys, newb to bladesmith forum so forgive me if this is a stupid question.

Here it is. I want to start throwing knives, but can't affort good ones life Cold Steel or even Colt.

I read on a website you can do your heat treatement tourself on stainless steel:

Heat it in a fire until the tip is not magnetic anymore, then put it in oil to coll it.

Then, put it in a oven at 475°f for 1 hour. Let it cool then do it again.


What do you guys think about it?

Also, could I do my own throwers by cutting into stainless steel and then treat it the same way?
(since throwers are not really complex in shape and don't need to be cute)
 
Hi Cybrok

No such thing as a stupid question but you may want to search the forum a bit.

The term stainless steel is like the term rifle. It comes in MANY different forms. Most of them should not be heat treated at home because they require a soak at very specific temperature and non-magnetic is not close enough. There are some tool steels that can be heat treated more or less the way you describe, but they are not stainless. Do some research before you try. There will be flames when you quench in oil, so don't try it in your apartment. Throwing knives will need a very different temper.

Good luck.

Rob!
 
Lets reformulate my question :)

I will buy cheap chinese throwers :) So they are made of the cheapest steel.
And I don't want it to break after a few throws.

And don't worry, I'm not dumb enough to try this inside. Not even in my backyard.

I just want them to be less... cheap. Improving the steel.

It's not a high precision work like you guys do.
 
Short answer.No,you can't HT stainless at home without fancy equipment. The information you quoted is wrong.Stainless requires holding at 1900-2000 degrees for at least 20 minutes.and tempering at 450 to 1000 degrees for several hours.This is not doable with a torch.
 
That tutorial is for a 5160 blade,not stainless steel.5160 would make OK throwers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top