Help with warped/curved blades (pre-heat treat)

[CptFancyPants]

Howdy!

I was hoping my introduction would be under different circumstances than pausing work and asking for help, but here I am.

I've been reading these boards and watching every youtube video I can find (thanks Nick Wheeler!), wanting to get these first two done without bugging everyone for help at every turn. But, I've ran into an obstacle that I need some help with and haven't been able to find any information on.

I've gotten as far as cutting out the two blades from 1095 stock purchased from usaknifemaker.com, and had been working on profiling the blades with a file (used an angle grinder to cut out the rough shapes); they have not yet been to heat treat. Yesterday I noticed that they each had a pretty wicked curve down the length of the blade.

From my reading, I think I may have overheated them while using the angle grinder and caused them to bend. I didn't notice a bend before I started, but it's possible it could have been there. And I've found ways to correct warped blades after heat treat, but not before.

So, my question is this, is it possible to straighten these two out? If so, what would be the best method? If it'd be better to start over with new steel, I'm ok with that I just wanted to find out if there was any way to correct the problem before I trashed them. I can upload pics if it'd help people see the curve I'm talking about.

- Kayman

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

They should be in the annealed state right now, so you can safely straighten as needed. Any method will be fine. Slightly overcorrect to allow a little spring back that often shows up in a day or so.
When the HT is being done, make sure they are fully normalized as the first steps, and check again for straightness before the final quench and hardening. It can be straightened as needed up to the quench.
After cooling from the quench, straightening has to be done at 400F after two tempers.