hi folks, i'm sure this has been done a hundred times, but i am hindered (no reason to go further) from being able to do searches and stuff. so, i have a bunch of carbon steel blanks--from olsen when they closed down, western, and an unmarked batch. each person i bought these from said they had been through their "initial heat-treatment". however, people who want to buy them keep asking if i "tested them w/ a file", and questions like that. what should i do to ascertain if they have been heat-treated? i have done some newbie stuff w/ modern stainless, but the old carbon-steel and the treatments are a mystery to me. any help would really be appreciated. thanks all, b
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testing for heat treat
- Thread starter cgwbear
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2005
- Messages
- 475
-shouldn't try to help people so close to bedtime, what with mis-readings and all.
hi thanks for the response. i guess i'm not using the right terms. these "blanks" are the same thickness throughout. they have not been ground. they were formed and the company stamped its name on them, and thats the shape they are in. the olsen's are grey, the westerns are much darker--almost black--bifurcated tangs. hope i will get my terms clearer. thanks.................b
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2005
- Messages
- 1,236
If you need to know if they are hardened or heat treated test them by trying to file some metal off the edge if the file skates or slides and does not cut they are hard or heat treated. If the file bites into the steel and removes some metal then they will probably need to be heat treated or hardened.
I hope this helps the only other way to tell is take them to a machine shop with a hardeness tester and have them tested.
I hope this helps the only other way to tell is take them to a machine shop with a hardeness tester and have them tested.