Heat Treating General

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Apr 16, 2015
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I have my first blade blank finished and it's time for heat treat!
A few questions:
1. How much does heat treating actually help to harden the blade?
2. What good heat treating services are there? I don't have the money for a $700 oven right now and building a small forge seems like a waste of energy / resources for a mildly short term solution.
What do you guys recommend?
(Sorry in advance if you've gotten this thread 900 times already)
 
It helps immensely, goes from soft to hard, you won't be able to file it after it is hardened. Of course this only applies if you used quality high carbon steel. You can send out. That's my recommendation
 
The stickys explain a lot of it.

The HT changes the arrangement of the atoms from soft pearlite, to rubbery austenite, then to really hard martensite. The tempering part of HT changes the too hard and brittle martensite to a less brittle and tougher state of martensite that is just right for knives.

Welcome to Shop talk.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
The HT changes the arrangement of the atoms from soft pearlite, to rubbery austenite, then to really hard martensite. The tempering part of HT changes the too hard and brittle martensite to a less brittle and tougher state of martensite that is just right for knives.
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Everything you ever REALLY need to know about heat treating.
It should be on a T-shirt.
 
Since its your first blade, if its an oil hardening steel, send it to me and I'll H/T it for you for free. Just put enough cash in the package to cover return shipping. If you're interested, send me an email at darrinsanders8666@gmail.com and I'll give you my address.
 
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