Re heat treating a knife. Is it a good idea?

[CStephens25]

I have an Ontario Ranger knife in 5160 steel. I am having a hard time keeping a good edge on it. So i got to looking and it appears to have a Rockwell Hardness rating of 53-55.

My question is whether or not it would be a good idea to re heat treat this knife to try and achieve a higher hardness or is that even possible? I am sorry if this is a dumb question but I couldnt find an answer anywhere else.

Thank You

 

[tattooedfreak]

You could do it but you would have to tear it apart to do it properly. And then put it all back together again, is it worth it to you?

 

[samuraistuart]

Looks to me like the Ontario Ranger knives have scales secured by allen screws. So "tearing into it" should be a no issue. The issue will probably lie in removing the powder coating, as it seems the whole line is powder coated (looking at knifecenter).

5160 can be re-hardened no problems.

 

[CStephens25]

The coating is already stripped off. It just seems to me that I cant get a very fine edge on it. If I do get a decent edge it doesnt seem to last long.

Has anyone else messed with any Ontario blades in 5160?

 

[Matthew Gregory]

I think I'd want to contact Ontario and see what they say. There's really no reason you should have to re-heat treat a factory knife, and if they have a production issue, I'm thinking they want to know about it.

Just my take on it.