How To Need help to ReEdge or ReProfile a blade blank

E

Ed Cav

Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Messages
8
Hey everyone, I bought a tanto-ish blank and want to shorten it. I started grinding it and it's a pain and killing belts, I guess due to the heat treat. Should I break the heat great or muscle through it. My other question is how would I proceed if that is needed. I've read how to do it but have never done it before, I'm a newby. I think it is 440 steel but I'm not sure. I grabbed it from a wood working catalogue and am doing it for a friend. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks all stay sharp !!!!! Lol
 
I wouldn't ruin the heat treat by grinding it with heavy pressure ... if you are intent on doing it yourself I would recommend slow speed and use water to keep it cool and take breaks.

If ir's a knife you really care about and want it modified I would contact Josh @ REK Sharpening and talk to him ... there is no one better to do this for you ... he is a great guy ... great communication and exceptional work.

Yes it will cost so it depends on the knife ... if it is a high quality knife and or has value to you ... then doing it right is worth the cost IMHO.

JJ
 
If you want to do it yourself: Did you keep it cool while grinding? Maybe you have already compromised the HT if not. I'd think about doing a new HT if you have to grind away a lot, or: I always cut the tip off when shortening blades and then grind to shape, saves alot of grinding work and you can keep the HT.
Now again if you're not certain on what steel it is it may be best to keep HT.

If it's just work that has to be done to you, the aformentioned josh from razor edge knives does amazing work and is pleasant to deal with.
 
I did cut then started grinding as it heated i kept putting it on a set cloth to cool and took breaks. It is still magnetic, I think that means the treat is still good. I will check out Josh though thanks guys!!
 
What are you grinding it with and has any discoloration appeared?
 
Ed Cav said:
I did cut then started grinding as it heated i kept putting it on a set cloth to cool and took breaks. It is still magnetic, I think that means the treat is still good. I will check out Josh though thanks guys!!
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I dont think you will be able to cut the hardened steel with a bandsaw or anything simillar. Maybe a zip disk in a grinder will work. I assume that having this done for you will cost more than the knife itself. I wouldnt overheat the blade if possible. I dont think it will be easy to re heattreat. To be honest im not sure you can even re do a stainless steel that is air hardening. I know the process is more involved than a simple carbon steel. You will need a kiln or you will need to send it away to be heat treated. I would recommend you use a new 36g belt. That will eat away steel quick. If you grind with bare hands its easy to monitor the temp. If its hot to the touch just dunk it in water. Dont let it get too hot to hold. Also to my knowledge magnetism isnt really altered that much on a hardened steel vs soft steel. I wouldnt use that as a metric to determine correct heat treat. Just my thoughts, hope this helps. Good luck on your project.
 
AVigil said:
What are you grinding it with and has any discoloration appeared?
Click to expand...
Slight discoloration on the area that I'm taking off. But I'm not up to the spot where I will start the finish angle. Th are why i posted on here before going further.
 
I did my initial cut with a dremel and then started being with a 1x30 with cheap 60 grit. But I just bought some blue set belts don't know name off hand. The angle is truly also due to hardening tanto edge. Has anyone had luck using a power alternating switch to lower the speed.?? Thanks again guys prob probably gonna hit it this weekend again I'll post the before and after horror show lol.
 
I would try my best to not over heat it. You need to
Know exzactly what alloy the steel is in order to give it a proper heat treat.
 
Unless you know what steel you are dealing with you don't want to try rehardening. Exception with some simple carbon steels.
 
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