Question for Mark ?

[pitdog]

Someone had posted a similar thread on another forum and figured it would be interesting to post here.

Mark, do you ever get nervous when people post heavy use of ya knives, be it battoning through some knotty wood or prying a stump apart etc ?

 

[m. wohlwend]

Someone had posted a similar thread on another forum and figured it would be interesting to post here.

Mark, do you ever get nervous when people post heavy use of ya knives, be it battoning through some knotty wood or prying a stump apart etc ?

...not as much as I used too ....

I had a knife that was heavily abused in a thread 2-3 years ago. The style raised eyebrows with another knife maker, but main lesson I learned from that thread was the incredible beating my knives could take. That knife was made from 5160 that was heat treated in a gas forge with no temp control, and dipped in used motor oil. The heat treat was all "educated guess work".
5160 is a deep hardening steel. I still work with it, but I also make alot of stuff out of 1095. I started using 1095 to get away from "mystery steel", mainly large saw blades. Mystery steel was not popular on BF. I quenched 1095 in alot of stuff, motor oil, canola oil, tranny fluid, water, and salt water.
I tested all of it. Today, I get the best results using an electric kiln for heat so that I get a very controled even heat on the blade, and for 1095 I use a high speed quenching oil. I have also developed my own temp range for tempering 1095.
The 1095 I produce now is very tough, and holds an edge, but is not
impossible to re-sharpen.

Controlling the heat and time and making sure your steel is quenched at the right speed is the most important part of heat treating. If you don't heat treat correctly by controlling you time, temp, and quench speed you are NOT getting the best performance out of the steel.

I have got into this discussion many times here on BF when someone wants a steel recomended for a knife. Knife "knuts" launch off into these discussions with the assumption that the knife maker is heat treating the steel to get it's optimal performance. It is my responsiblity as maker to get the best result possible. It's why when I set up my shop here in CA, one of the first things I orderd was an Even Heat electric kiln....

 

[coaldigger]

Ok & what if someone breaks or chips their knife while battoning or stump prying ( survival/bushcraft type things)? Are they just out of luck or do you cover them ?

 

[m. wohlwend]

Ok & what if someone breaks or chips their knife while battoning or stump prying ( survival/bushcraft type things)? Are they just out of luck or do you cover them ?

Never had to handle that yet, never had one that broke... I would cover it.

 

[fixer]

Never had to handle that yet, never had one that broke... I would cover it.

that's reassuring and confidence inspiring.

not that i'm into abusive testing or anything, but what would you NOT cover?

i'm not daring anyone to abuse their blades, i'm just curious.

 

[pitdog]

that's reassuring and confidence inspiring.

not that i'm into abusive testing or anything, but what would you NOT cover?

i'm not daring anyone to abuse their blades, i'm just curious.

I'm guessing Mark would cover any breakage that happens during normal knife related tasks.
If someone went out their way to be a retard then I'm sure Mark would draw the line.

 

[m. wohlwend]

I'm guessing Mark would cover any breakage that happens during normal knife related tasks.
If someone went out their way to be a retard then I'm sure Mark would draw the line.

That pretty much sums it up ... LOL

 

[fixer]

I'm guessing Mark would cover any breakage that happens during normal knife related tasks.
If someone went out their way to be a retard then I'm sure Mark would draw the line.

soo... no making fuzz sticks from cinderblocks?

 

[m. wohlwend]

soo... no making fuzz sticks from cinderblocks?

....:thumbdn:....

 

[m. wohlwend]

Meet Ugly Betty

Lets put Ugly Betty in a vise, don't have to worry about scratching her ...

She isn't too pretty, let's bend her real good :thumbup:

and just like that, back to center!

Ugly Betty is 3/16th thick of a super exotic steel called 1095....

oh, heat treated in my shop

 

[pitdog]

Great stuff Mark, nothing wrong with that heat treat eh !!!:thumbup:

 

[coaldigger]

Now thats what I like to see... a knife maker testing his steel & showing his results with us the customers :thumbup:

 

[PB Wilson]

Thanks for directing me to this thread.

I can't wait to get those two blade blanks you made all handled up and put them to work. I can't wait to test out the Mark Wohlwend heat treat.