How thin is too thin??

D

DannyDiablo

Joined
Mar 18, 2008
Messages
176
I have been getting better at my flat grinding and made a few smaller knives out of .125 thick 1095...problem is I ground them to just about their finished thickness, actually I'll even go so far as to say finished. They came out so good I was hoping to have them heat treated. I'm wondering what kind of problems to expect if I go through with the heat treat. Just hoping maybe they could be salvaged.. Thanks
 
Final thickness depends on what/how you want to cut.

Pre-HT thickness depends on alloy and HT procedure.

We need more details before giving responsible advice :)

If you have your bevels ground the way you like and think the edge might be too thin, it only takes seconds to sand/file/grind the edge back to avoid warping in HT. Forget about coins or eyeballing, a $20 digital caliper from Harbor Freight/Lowe's/Menard's/Home Depot etc is a very handy thing to have around.
 
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A caliper is on the list of things I gotta get:D. Well since I cant give you guys exact measurements
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2012-04-25_17-05-54_186.jpg


http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii23/crayone1/2012-04-25_17-06-08_340.jpg
 
And, if you are sending the blades to Brad at Peter's, be sure to call him and tell him where you're at on the thickness. He'll give you a good idea of what to expect.
Or even Bos. Call and ask questions.
I just heat treated a 1080 hidden tang drop point hunter that was forged too thin, then ground super thin. 3/32nd? I had no problems with warp. But, I kept the edge only slightly too thin. I had normalized it and ground it to 400 grit to eliminate and deep scratches.....
 
Thanks Brian..That gives me some hope, I'm going to send them out anyway. If anything I'll get to see first hand what not to do!!
 
I didn't catch what type of steel it is. I go much finer on my stainless than I do on HC because the Stainless stays flat when put between the plates.
 
That doesn't look too bad. If you are worried, sand back the edge to make it a little thicker. On 1095, you want at least .015"-.020" at the edge.
 
bladsmth said:
That doesn't look too bad. If you are worried, sand back the edge to make it a little thicker. On 1095, you want at least .015"-.020" at the edge.
Click to expand...

Since you do not have a caliper, that is 4 to 5 (.016" to .020") sheets of plain copy paper. ;)
 
Another equivalent is an edge between 24 and 26 gauge. Use some sheet stock or a B&S gauge to check the edge.
 
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