heating knives...

Joined
Jun 15, 1999
Messages
981
How exactly does this work? I hear people say how Benchmade heats their knives poorly, to a 62 or so RC. Can someone please explain that to me in easier terms. Is it just sticking a knife in a fire pit there, the thing they heat the knives in, to a hotter temperature, is that what heating to a certain Rc is? I'm really in the dark on how this works...
 
The temp and time at that temp is unique to each steel. As an example, 5160 spring steel heated to 1350 - 1400 temp for five min and quenched (stuck into) 120-140 temp oil will produce a RC hardness of about 61-62. ATS34 on the other hand must be heated to 1850-1950
for 1/2 to one hour and quenched in an air stream (not cold air) to get the same hardness. Both of these steels must be drawn back (tempered) to get a blade that is usable. The higher the hardness the harder it is to sharpen and the easier it chips or cracks. The lower the hardness the easier it will dull in use. Hope this helps.

A good steel is like a good woman, handle with care produces very pleasing results!!

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old pete
 
Heat treating is sometimes referred to as a science and sometimes a fine art. In the case of blades, I tend to think it's more art. Very basically, when you heat steel up to its critical temperature, which is different for each steel, and then cool it quickly, you harden it. Its hardness is measured on the Rockwell scale, that's what the RC means. In the 60s is chisel-hard, for reference. So when you hear a reference to heating, it's actually the hardening that people are talking about. If someone says that a company doesn't heat their blades well, they're saying that the companies blades are either too hard, or too soft. Again, I'm oversimplifying, but it's a pretty complicated subject. Heat treating is done in a oven, kiln, or a forge(the fire pit you referred to).
Hope this helps.


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Oz

"I didn't think it was THAT sharp!"
 
Both posts helped a lot. is there a chart for reference somewhere on the net you know of that lists what steels heated at what temp, and cooled at what temp, will produce what hardness. Or do you just know that, because it's common knowledge for a knife "buff"
 
Go to Principal Metals, select Properties and follow the instructions to find out everything you ever wanted to know about almost any steel.

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Luke 22:36, John 18:6-11
 
Thanks a lot. I just found what I'm writing my next college essay on....
 
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