Question about making a guard out of blade steel.

[Black Dog]

A friend wanted me to make a Tanto style blade for him and I am going to make it out of 154CM. I want to make a small oval guard (tsuba) out of the same material.

I was planning on making the guard by cutting a slot in it, shaping it and then soldering it on to the blade after the blade was heat treated. I was not planning on getting the guard head treated.

Is there a need to heat treat the guard too? I was thinking the soldering process might ruin the temper and I am not sure that I see any reason to have the guard be hardened. Does this plan sound ok?

Thanks in advance,
Bob

 

[Phillip Patton]

Most stainless steels are more corrosion resistant when they are hardened, so you may want to heat treat it for that reason.
Soldering shouldn't ruin the temper as long as you don't overheat.

 

[mete]

If you're using the low temperature 'soft' silver solder [400 F] that won't be a problem.

 

[Black Dog]

Thanks for the replies. I see now that heat treating the guard would be best especially since the knife will be for field use and exposed to harsh environments. I had better make sure the fit is perfect before the heat treat.