Heat Treatement question!! Help!

[TheLazySpoiledKitty]

Hello Knife Folks,

I want to heat treat some metal,

and my question is, could i do with with a simple grill and charcoal??? and a hair dyier to speed up the fire on the coal??

Would i be able to get my steel to the point where its red-hot???

I don't have a torch or anything so this is the only way i can do it unless if i want i can do it on a campfire.

All help is appriciated ,
TheLazySpoiledKitty

 

[yablanowitz]

I have forged cold-rolled stock using an improvised forced-draft charcoal forge such as you suggest. Heat-treating generally requires a bit more precision that that, and depending on the specific alloy being used, may require far higher temperatures for longer soak times than are practical that way.

 

[clockman]

Post your question in Knife Makers discussion forum..click on.General knife makers discussion.

I'm sure you'll get some answers there.

 

[Bo T]

It depends on the type of steel. But for high carbon steels you should be able to get the temperatures high enough with a forced air charcoal forge for work or annealing. There is a LOT of information posted in 'Shop Talk - Bladesmith Questions'.