Recommendation? Texturing flats, hot or cold?

[N.W. Gean]

Hi folks, I hope everyone had a good Christmas/ is having a good NYE.

I'm wanting to try texturing the flats on a knife with a ball pein hammer that I thinned and polished. I've seen conflicting information on whether to do it hot or cold, as there is concern regarding the grain structure. I'm using 8670 steel that comes in a ready to heat treat condition, so the biggest issue I see with doing it hot is that I'd have to run normalizing cycles. Maybe that would still have to be done if I cold hammered it, though.

What do you all think?

 

[TheEdge01]

I always do mine before heat treating and never had any issues.

 

[N.W. Gean]

I always do mine before heat treating and never had any issues.

Cold?

 

[TheEdge01]

Cold?

Yes!

 

[fitzo]

I’ve done it on older high alloys and S35V cold. Make sure and turn the piece frequently because it will bend like you’re using a carbide straightener. Give it a stress relief heat after banging it.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I usually do it hot. Doing it cold can lead to some ugly warping.

while 1200-1600°F are sufficient temps. I usually do it in the 1600-1900° range.