how is the heat treat process done???

[knifeaholic101]

is the ht process done with first ht then quencing? or quenching then ht? if you send your blade out to be heat treated do they automatically quench it?

 

[Matthew Gregory]

Woah, man... I don't mean to be talking to you out of school like this, but weren't you just trying to sell a knife?
I think it's great that you're looking to learn how this stuff works and such, but maybe you should slow down a little bit, do some searching around on this forum, and fully educate yourself on the ins and outs of knifemaking before you go any further. I know it is really hard for me to be patient, too... but there's a great deal of art AND science involved here, and to NOT educate ourselves to the best of our ability before we start selling is doing both the customer and us a disservice.
Good luck, man! And slow down!

 

[Tom Militano]

Knifeaholic, are you making your own blades or buying them? I'm not trying to be a wiseass, but I remember seeing a picture of a knife you had for sale and that question would make me leery of buying, if I was in the market for a knife.

 

[knifeaholic101]

lol lol lol no that blade was already treated.........

 

[Mike Davis]

heat treat followed with immediatly with quench and then temper. depending on what steel your using the quenchant will vary
oxxx steels quench in oil
axxx steels are air hardening and recuire no quench
wxxx steels are quenched in water
what steel are you wanting to start with? i would suggest o-1 or 10 series steels.
hope this helps a little. try looking throught the sticky threads at the top of the forum page as there is an invaluable supply of information in there

 

[David Schott]

HT is heating a blade up to the correct temp for the correct amount of time for your steel, quenching in the correctly heated medium for your steel for the right amount of time, and tempering at the right temp for the right amoutn of time based on the blade. In that order, haha!

Its too big a question to address in a single post. I would choose a steel type, then start searching that stikie at the top for specific instructions. HT process will follow a general path but be far diffterent between steels even of the same type (like soak times and temps between 1095, O1, and 5160)

 

[JCaswell]

Knifeaholic,
If you're serious about doing knives, or just about anything with steel for that matter, you should go to Amazon (or wherever) and pick up "Metallurgy Fundamentals" by Brandt, Goodheart-Willcox. I found it extremely helpful years ago. It covers a lot of information and is pretty readable. Not only will you know the basic hows and whys of steel, but you'll be able to do things like read and use isothermal transformation charts (which is essential if you plan to do more complex heat treating in the future). Tutorials are really great. They can get you up and running fast, but you should know what's going on. Be a pro--read the book, you'll be really encouraged to discover how much you can learn about steel and it's handling in a short time.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Heat treatment is the overall term for hardening and tempering steel.It is basically hardening which is the quench stage ;and tempering which is relieving quench stress.(there is a whole lot more than this,but this is the basic principle)
Here is what you need to do:
1) Go to www.knifehow.com and look at the Heat Treating info.(and all the other tutorials and info,too
2) Read SEVERAL books on knife making - they all cover HT.
3) Find a maker near you or attend a hammer-in to learn first hand from people who know how to HT.
Also,you need to:
4) Put some info in your profile so we know something about you and where you are.
5) Upgrade your membership to knifemaker.That way you can do more on this forum.

 

[Diggerdog]

Thanks JCaswell for the reference. I ordered the book this afternoon. This kind of knowledge is so important. Regards. Dave

 

[JCaswell]

Thanks JCaswell for the reference.

You're very welcome!
You'll love hearing guys talk about dentrite colonies, grain growth, space lattices, retained austinite, IT curves, etc. etc. and know what the heck they're talking about!