I just started making knives as a hobby a couple of months ago. I have 4 blades as of now, including a 18" bowie. I use 01 tool steel from Starrett, either .125, or.1875 thick. I have to send it out of town to get heat treated, as was wondering if there is a cheap,easy method to do a good,decent heat treat at home. Also, if I were to use a file for a knife, since it is already hardened, if I heated it to red hot, and cool it in air on it's own (normalize), will this make it workable enough to grind. I have only a little 1X42 Delta belt and disc sander, so it doesn't do a lot of hogging, especially on hard stuff. My knives are for me only, and won't be sold, as I mentioned earlier, it's a hobby!! I am a machinist by trade, and I finally found a way to satisfy my never ending desire for knives! It's a lot of work,especially with minimal tools, ( I do cheat once and awhile and use a milling machine, or metal cutting saw at work), but as of now, it's all by hand. Thank you.
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heat treating question
- Thread starter sinawalli
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2005
- Messages
- 6,768
http://www.hossom.com/tutorial/jonesy/
Check out that sight , that sight made me realize I can do it myself , at home , with the basic tools and a few extra and a lot of elbow grease.
I finished my first one tuesday night of last week and half way finished my second one last night.
I am still learning about different steels and which ones need what sort of heat treatment (so much to learn
).
I used D2 tool steel , actual Busse bootknife/dagger blanks that I pretty much butchered...lol but you know what both of them are razor sharp so I know I got the HT and temper right.
I used a little 'ol BBQ (I can hear the snickers now hehe) but hey I live in an apartmentand I dont have a ton of dough to drop on this so I'll use what works for me and it did work
I heated that little sheepsfoot style blade up last night and it got good and orangish/yellow (I used a little fan on high blowing in that pit to make it hotter) of course exact heat measurement isnt easy this way but this is on the cheap.. I took a magnet and put it all along the blade area , no stick !! woohoo! , then slowly dunked it in a glass of vegetable oil and let it slow cool in that until I could touch it.
After that two 1 hour oven treatments at 500 f. and it was good to go..
Now the hardest part for me is getting the grind right and making it look good ! This little beast im workin on isnt too pretty and I know itll take days of sanding and polishing to get all those scratch marks out so I think I'll play around with blueing it , I can console myself with this is my 2nd knife , I can expect it it look like something out of a box
The main point is , I have to enjoy it and I am ! If I let myself get too caught up in pleasing looks at this point I might get discouraged or bent so for now I concentrate on learning. And the fact that the little sucker can do what it is supposed to do , cut !
I'll post some pics when I'm done.
Todd
Check out that sight , that sight made me realize I can do it myself , at home , with the basic tools and a few extra and a lot of elbow grease.
I finished my first one tuesday night of last week and half way finished my second one last night.
I am still learning about different steels and which ones need what sort of heat treatment (so much to learn
).I used D2 tool steel , actual Busse bootknife/dagger blanks that I pretty much butchered...lol but you know what both of them are razor sharp so I know I got the HT and temper right.
I used a little 'ol BBQ (I can hear the snickers now hehe) but hey I live in an apartmentand I dont have a ton of dough to drop on this so I'll use what works for me and it did work
I heated that little sheepsfoot style blade up last night and it got good and orangish/yellow (I used a little fan on high blowing in that pit to make it hotter) of course exact heat measurement isnt easy this way but this is on the cheap.. I took a magnet and put it all along the blade area , no stick !! woohoo! , then slowly dunked it in a glass of vegetable oil and let it slow cool in that until I could touch it.After that two 1 hour oven treatments at 500 f. and it was good to go..
Now the hardest part for me is getting the grind right and making it look good ! This little beast im workin on isnt too pretty and I know itll take days of sanding and polishing to get all those scratch marks out so I think I'll play around with blueing it , I can console myself with this is my 2nd knife , I can expect it it look like something out of a box
The main point is , I have to enjoy it and I am ! If I let myself get too caught up in pleasing looks at this point I might get discouraged or bent so for now I concentrate on learning. And the fact that the little sucker can do what it is supposed to do , cut !
I'll post some pics when I'm done.
Todd
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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- 38,354
Depending on how many knives a year you will do:
CHEAP - You can do it yourself with a simple forge,a gallon or two of ATF,and your kitchen oven for tempering.Maybe $100 invested for a simple (primitive) setup. You can send them out for $5-10 per blade plus about $8-10 shipping.(If you hook up with another knifemaker,it may cost nothing but a six pack)
EASY - HT on simple steel is not difficult.Anyone can learn it.Your first attempts may be less than perfect,but with a bit of practice it is not hard to do.
GOOD and DECENT - The quality of the HT depends on skill,equipment,and if the planets are aligned properly.With no training,no temperature monitoring equipment,and a rudimentary forge you can get fair results,but do not expect consistent results to match the blades sent out for HT.
My take on your question is this - if you are going to do six to ten knives a year,put your money in a better belt sander,and sent your blades out..If you are going to make ten to twenty knives a year,you may want to invest in a good HT oven and a good grinder.If you move to stainless blades,send them out until you have a full setup and nothing else to buy.
CHEAP - You can do it yourself with a simple forge,a gallon or two of ATF,and your kitchen oven for tempering.Maybe $100 invested for a simple (primitive) setup. You can send them out for $5-10 per blade plus about $8-10 shipping.(If you hook up with another knifemaker,it may cost nothing but a six pack)
EASY - HT on simple steel is not difficult.Anyone can learn it.Your first attempts may be less than perfect,but with a bit of practice it is not hard to do.
GOOD and DECENT - The quality of the HT depends on skill,equipment,and if the planets are aligned properly.With no training,no temperature monitoring equipment,and a rudimentary forge you can get fair results,but do not expect consistent results to match the blades sent out for HT.
My take on your question is this - if you are going to do six to ten knives a year,put your money in a better belt sander,and sent your blades out..If you are going to make ten to twenty knives a year,you may want to invest in a good HT oven and a good grinder.If you move to stainless blades,send them out until you have a full setup and nothing else to buy.