How hard to make A2 slicer

[rockfishbrewery]

Hello,

I just finished grinding my new yanagiba inspired slicing knife of the following spec:

Steel = 3/32in A2
Blade Length = 10in
Overall Length = 16in
Hardness = TBD
Edge Geometry = 15 degrees per side (or less if I can get away with it)
Heat Treatment = I will be sending it to Peters for heat treatment
Intended Use = Boneless meat slicing knife


My questions are as follows:

- I would like to make this knife as hard as possible, to maximize edge retention. It doesn't need to be overly tough as I won't be banging it against a cutting board, however I would prefer if the edge weren't chippy. How hard should I make this knife?

- How much polishing should I do before heat treatment? Will the knife come back from heat-treatment with a bunch of oxidation that needs to be sanded off? I was planning on polishing with 400grit sandpaper before sending it off.......would I be wasting my time if I did that?


Thanks in advance for any input you may have.

 

[thegeek574]

From all that I hear Peters is really good about keeping blades clean. The threads that I have read on the subject generally recommended getting it to the desired finish because there would not be much work that would need to get done after it came back from HT and polishing is harder after. I claim no expertise, just a lot of research time.
I will let someone more qualified than me talk about RC.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

I would shoot for 61/62 HRC.

If you are only slicing soft materials, it should be fine.

220 or 400 grit finish before HT.

 

[Danbo]

My understanding is, A2 is at it's best at 60 Rockwell.