Re-heat treating

[P. McKinley]

I heat treated a couple of W2 blades last night and I'm not happy with the results - new brand of clay used, immediately flaked right off. If I re-do these blades, with a new clay, do I first have to grind off the decarb layer? Or, can I just quickly hand sand the blades and reapply clay for the new heat treat?

Thanks,

-Peter

 

[G. Shahan]

I just do a quick pass on the grinder Peter, never had a problem.

Greg

 

[P. McKinley]

That's what I thought.

Thanks Greg.

-Peter

 

[JMJones]

You dont have to remove the decarb, as you will just get more decarb during the new ht. You probably want to remove the scale and clean the metal so the new clay sticks.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Agreed, the decarb will protect the blade from new decarb. Just clean it up and re-do the treatment. Afterwards, make sure to remove all decarb before you decide if the hamon is right or not.....and then start up the grits.

 

[P. McKinley]

Thanks guys.

-Peter