Pre-heat treat question.

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Godless907

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Jun 5, 2010
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Im sending off my first few knives to get heat treated soon... can i sharpen them first or wait till they come back.. I have the edge ground to semi sharp.. or would it be ok to go razor sharp or it dont matter either way? (steel 1095)
 
Dont grind the 1095 blades too thin b/f heat treating for several reasons. First it may warp in the quench, second you will have to re grind after heat treating to remove any decarb and scale.
Now if you were using a air hardining steel that was going to be foil wraped or treated in a oxygen free oven then it would be ok to go thinner.
 
Your heat treater will appreciate it if you don't send sharp blades.
 
As a general rule sharpening the blade is one of, if not the last step, in making a knife. Like others have mentioned not only do you run the risk of the blade warping but there is going to be a fair amount of grinding/sanding you'll have to do after the HT. Do you really want to be running your hand back and forth across the side of a blade that is sharp while sanding?
 
I use alot of 1095 aswell i always keep the grind at least a 1/16" thick on the edge,b4 h/t,ive seen alot of people profile there steel drill there holes, h/t it then grind the knife completly after heat treating it,b/c of scaling you can just surface grind the blade again after h/t then grind it completly to a full ground edge, takes a few step out of the process,sounds ideal ,but ive never done it
 
As said, don't put any kind of edge on the blade at all. The edge on 1095 should be about .030" to .050"

I would dull back your edge to leave a smooth and flat edge. Something about the thickness of a dime is good. Make sure all grinding marks are sanded off before HT,too.
 
I take my knives down to a 220 grit finish prior to HT. No don't sharpen the edge, this could lead to stress risers that could start a microscopic crack at the edge that could lead to a failier of the knife later in use ( ie the blade may snap in half).

Just leave the edge smooth and dull, as should be the entire knife blank in preparation for HT.
 
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