Newbie Loading knives in cold oven

T

That Moron

Joined
May 2, 2016
Messages
7
I got an ancient Thermolyne heat treating oven last year and put my first batch of small o1 and 1095 knives in the cold oven and let them heat up with the oven(about an hour at 110 v) is this wrong? Am I a jerk for doing this? Buehler? Anyone?
 
You might want to try posting this question in the knifemakers area. This section is more for technical questions about the site. :thumbup:
 
You are not a jerk or moron. It is best to let the oven heat up to temperature and then place the blades in it. Let the temperature return to the target and start the timer.
 
Your not a jerk for asking. I'm kinda a newbie myself but done that for YEARS and had great results as far as myself and all my friends who I gave knives too. Only after reading tons of threads here did I discover it wasn't the best method. But Like I said myself and others I've gave knives to have bragged about how great they have preformed over the years doing it "wrong". I sometimes wonder if knife builders don't "over think" it.
 
LCoop said:
... I sometimes wonder if knife builders don't "over think" it.
Click to expand...

10,000 years ago we made knives by banging rocks together. Today we have specialized variable speed grinders and ovens controlled by VFD's and PID's. Define "overthink". :D
 
You mention that it's an "ancient" oven.

This may well make a difference. Controllers have moved on a lot in recent years and some of the older controller/oven combinations may overshoot the setpoint by a significant amount if the workpiece is loaded once at stable temperature. It's down to "Integral windup" during loading in case anyone is curious.

Loading into a cold oven and bringing the work up to temperature with the oven is probably the safest course with an old oven.
 
I have corner of the market for being a jerk and a moron on these forums, so we might have copyright infringement going on, here... :D

Everyone's already said it. Heat your kiln to temp. I also suggest letting it remain at temp for a good while to reduce ramp time back to temp after you open and close it to put your blades in.
 
I'll further second the suggestion to let your oven heat up and "equalize" first. I normally start heating my oven as soon as I walk into the shop, and take care of other things while they come up to temp. Once the oven has hit temp, I let it soak for at least 20 or 30 minutes extra. This just helps ensure you don't have any temperature spikes and that inside temperature is nice and even throughout.
 
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