How hot do you have to get to affect temper

Gollnick

Gollnick

Musical Director
Joined
Mar 22, 1999
Messages
29,258
Before applying Militec-1 lubricant, I heat the joints of the knife up with a hairdryer to accelerate the product's bonding process. It works well. The knife never gets to hot to touch. But, some people have suggested that I might be damaging the temper of my blade with my hairdryer.

Recently, there was a thread about using kitchen dishwashers to clean knives. Again, some questioned if the heat in the dishwasher might damage the temper of the blade. When I wash good knives in the dishwasher, I always use the "energy saver" setting which disables the heated drying phase which is the hottest part of a dishwasher's cycle.

So, my question is this: how hot do you have to get a blade to affect the temper?


------------------
Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
different steels are affected differently but a general rulle is as long as you don't color the steel it's not affected. This usually starts around 300 degrees.I don't believe hair dryers and dishwasher don't run that high.Hope this helps.
 
Gollnick:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Before applying Militec-1 lubricant, I heat the joints of the knife up with a hairdryer to accelerate the product's bonding process. It works well. The knife never gets to hot to touch.</font>
Click to expand...

A blade gets a lot hotter than that during heavy use.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">So, my question is this: how hot do you have to get a blade to affect the temper?</font>
Click to expand...

Above the last temper cycle. Even low tempers are 300 - 400 F (many are lot higher 900+F). You are not coming close to that unless you expose it to something like open flame for a prolonged period of time. Anything lower is just going to act as a stress relief on the metal.

-Cliff
 
Cliff; a blade gets hotter with heavy use than it does under a blow dryer??

MAN!! You must have biceps like Ahnold!!
wink.gif


Walt
 
I think it would take the kind of heat a soldering iron or camp fire could generate to do this (at the very least). I am 110% sure a hairdryer will not affect the temper of a steel knife. If you are worried, get a high speed steel
wink.gif


LOL!

W.A.

------------------
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!
Founding president and member number 1! Wana join?
 
Chuck- Keep that bali out of the fire and you're golden.
biggrin.gif

Walt- Slicing doublewall corrugated cardboard boxes quickly into long thin strips heated up my spyderco starmate to the point that it was uncomfortable to touch. I think I could get more heat out of a hair dryer though.
eek.gif


-IPR
 
When the mercury approaches triple digits my temper gets much shorter
wink.gif
 
Seeing as how my dishwasher doesn't affect the cheap plastic that gets washed in it (even on high heat drying), I can't imaging that it will get hot enough to affect the temper of a blade.

------------------
The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog. - Ambrose Bierce
Most dog owners are at length able to teach themselves to obey their dog. - Robert Morley

iktomi
 
Seeing as how my dishwasher doesn't affect the cheap plastic that gets washed in it (even on high heat drying), I can't imagine that it will get hot enough to affect the temper of a blade.

------------------
The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog. - Ambrose Bierce
Most dog owners are at length able to teach themselves to obey their dog. - Robert Morley

iktomi
 
Walt :

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">a blade gets hotter with heavy use than it does under a blow dryer??</font>
Click to expand...

An example, cutting a lot of cardboard very quickly without pausing. If you have a sharp knife you can rip up strips in a smooth continuous motion. I do this to have some material on hand to start up the stove in the morning. If I rip through a decent large box, the blade will be heated up past the point at which it will blister the skin on contact.

-Cliff
 
Yes, contrary to our belief that knives are above such trivial things, the laws of physics still effect them. Meaning friction is a factor.
 
Brownell's sells gun finishes which must be baked on. They state in the instructions to bake the part for 30-60min. at 300-350 degrees F. I have used this finish on knives and guns with no problems.
 
:
Try laying your knife out in the southern states sunlight anywhere and I guarantee you it will be too hot to pick up, especially a black blade.
Doesn't seem to hurt the temper though.


------------------

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;---Yvsa-G@WebTV.net----&gt;®

"VEGETARIAN".............
Indin word for lousy hunter.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Disco Stu:
Yes, contrary to our belief that knives are above such trivial things, the laws of physics still effect them. Meaning friction is a factor.</font>
Click to expand...

UNLESS it is Talonite™.
wink.gif


------------------
The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog. - Ambrose Bierce
Most dog owners are at length able to teach themselves to obey their dog. - Robert Morley

iktomi
 
Can anybody please tell me why anyone would like to put expensive $100-$200 knives in a dishwasher, exposing them to water, thus increasing the risk of rust thousandfolds...
smile.gif
 
Water doesn't cause rust. In fact, if you stored your knife in pure water, it would never rust. Consider, for example, pictures we've seen of the Titanic which has been on the bottom of the sea for decades and yet is still very much intact.

Rust is a common term for oxidation. The Ox in oxidation refers to oxygen. The red rust that forms on common steel is, in fact, iron oxide. Water accelerates the process since water usually contains disolved oxygen and brings that oxygen into more intimate contact with the iron.

Heat accelerates most chemical reactions including that between iron and oxygen.

Why put a knife through the dishwasher? Because it's a very effective way of cleaning the knife. While it's not for every knife since the dishwasher experience is rather harsh and can dammage some non-metal materials often used on knives, and while it's often best done without dishwasher "soap" since dishwasher soap is formulated for food residues and is also rather harsh stuff, I've found my dishwasher to be a great way to clean knives. So, it's good to know that the heat isn't a danger to blade temper.


------------------
Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
With 440C it is just over 300 deg c
With ATS-34 it is just over 500 deg c

At least thats what a knife maker told me.

W.A.

------------------
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!
Founding president and member number 1! Wana join?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top