Starting a new love affair, need help with Heat Treat

Last_Ditch

Last_Ditch

Joined
Feb 20, 2015
Messages
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I am about to embark on a life-long dream, and start making knives of my own. I have spent a good bit of time reading from the experts here on ideas and steel choices. I have started putting my garage shop together with some basic machines and tools. However, what has been on my mind from day one is HEAT TREATING!!!

In the embryonic stages of my new adventure, I am curious if it's an accepted practice to put my ideas to metal, and have someone else heat treat them? I want to purchase a kiln and do it eventually, but I don't have it in the budget to spend $1500+ on a kiln right now.

What I am looking for is someone that has the time and ability to heat treat 1095 for me. I am not looking to start a full time production, just a few knives a month. What is the going rate for having someone heat treat 1095?

I am so excited to get my first one done and get some pics out. I will be living in the forums, picking up every bit of info I can. If anyone has some tips or some advice for a future knife maker, please don't hesitate. I will gladly accept any and all you have to share.
 
There are lots of heat treaters that you can choose from.

The big ones are Peters, Bos, Rowan. If you to the knifemakers talk forum, they can help you more than in here. But this may help a little
 
yes, that is an accepted practice. it is expensive to heat treat a few knives via a company. its more economical to send 20 at once. i am not sure of the exact prices.
 
Your more then welcom to send some to me to heat treat for you, I would be more then happy to help. I can do just about any steel you want, I have a heat treat oven that is 32" long and a liquid nitrogen dewer. For quenching I have aluminium plates 23" long as well as AAA quench oil, I am waiting on my bucket of parks 50 to show up as we speak. I also have a sword length quench tank filled with canola. I also have stainless foil for wrapping the high temp steels.

I have been thinking more and more about this and honestly would like to help the new guys starting out. It takes so much time to make a knife by hand with hand tools it's a shame to give it a sub par heat treat. I'm not saying I'm a free heat treat service for everyone, I'm just saying if you have a need and your just starting out I can help.
 
I'm a fellow newbie and want to say this knifemaking is a lot of fun, hope you enjoy it!

Also due to the metallurgy, you can easily do a backyard heat treat if you choose 1080 or 1084 instead of 1095. Talking with a few other makers even with 1095 you can do somewhat acceptable (depending on your definition of acceptable). I spent about $30 on three insulating firebricks, $40 on a Bernzomatic TS4000 torch, $3 on a canister of propane, $5 on a gallon of canola oil, $5 on a magnetic retriever, $10 for welders gloves, and use a 6 quart cooking pot I already had for quenching and my kitchen oven for tempering. All in: less than $100, the satisfaction of doing it myself: priceless. :)
 
JTknives said:
like to help the new guys starting out. It takes so much time to make a knife by hand with hand tools it's a shame to give it a sub par heat treat. I'm not saying I'm a free heat treat service for everyone, I'm just saying if you have a need and your just starting out I can help.
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I may be interested, and would be willing to pay a reasonable fee. I've got a 5 gal bucket of Parks 50, but no precise heat control or liquid nitrogen (and I hear that's required to get the full benefits of 1095).
 
It's definitely acceptable, especially for newer makers. If you're considering selling, it may actually be a good thing until you have a more established reputation, as you can just say "Peters/Bos/whoever heat treat to RCwhatever," which is a note of confidence for a buyer, I think. It certainly is for me when I see a Knifemaker For Sale thread from someone I don't recognize.

You can grind a bunch of annealed blades and then send them in batches for heat treat. Not at all economical to send them in onesies and twosies, and a lot of professional heat treaters have minimum order sizes, anyway.
 
There is a really thorough book out call "Metallurgy of Steel for Bladesmiths & Others
who Heat Treat and Forge Steel" by John D. Verhoeven Emeritus Professor Iowa State University
This was written particularly for knifemakers to give them a very good understanding of how to handle and treat steel. A great book, virtually a course in metallurgy for knifemakers.

A google search will find it and can be downloaded as a free pdf file
 
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Thank you for the info. I would love to go from start to finish myself. I'm sure I can get some knowledge from many sources and learn the process. All I have right now is a small simple propane forge I made from an old propane tank. It will heat up nicely for banging away on metal, but I have no real experience or way of determining the temps pre-plunge. I have done the magnet thing with a few small "forged farm parts" but when I sell that first batch of knives, I feel that will be the benchmark of my future and would prefer someone with more experience get it right. Eventually I will do it all, but I don't really have the budget for an accurate Heat Treat Kiln right now.

As always and with the utmost respect to those in the forums, Thank you very much for your valuable input.
 
JTknives said:
Your more then welcom to send some to me to heat treat for you, I would be more then happy to help. I can do just about any steel you want, I have a heat treat oven that is 32" long and a liquid nitrogen dewer. For quenching I have aluminium plates 23" long as well as AAA quench oil, I am waiting on my bucket of parks 50 to show up as we speak. I also have a sword length quench tank filled with canola. I also have stainless foil for wrapping the high temp steels.

I have been thinking more and more about this and honestly would like to help the new guys starting out. It takes so much time to make a knife by hand with hand tools it's a shame to give it a sub par heat treat. I'm not saying I'm a free heat treat service for everyone, I'm just saying if you have a need and your just starting out I can help.
Click to expand...

JT, I would definitely take you up on that offer, and definitely understand it's not a free service. I read this forum pretty regularly -- it seems i'm always reading your solid advice. I'd appreciate having my knives HT'd by ya. I've made a few knives, but don't have the ability to HT...so i never actually finish a knife. I've been waiting until i met someone local or had enough HT-ready-blades to justify shipping them out. I've been using 1084, let me know if you're interested.
 
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