Thin AEB-L heat treating issues

Thank you, Scott. I am really new to knife making, so the quick working edge might take a while... I will hold off on tempering though until I get the blades ground.
 
Make sure you do the "correct" brass rod test. It does NOT involve cutting into a brass rod. You put an edge on the blade and flex the thin edge against the brass rod, making sure that it doesn't chip out or stay bent.
 
I figured out why the hardness was so high. I have a different PID controller on the tempering oven than the heat treat oven. The one on the heat treat oven, you simply set the temperature. The one on the tempering oven, you have to press the "Set" button after you adjust the temperature, otherwise it reverts to the previous temperature. I went through two tempering cycles without noticing that it had reset to the previously used temperature, which was 350F. I will be more careful next time.
 
samuraistuart said:
Make sure you do the "correct" brass rod test. It does NOT involve cutting into a brass rod. You put an edge on the blade and flex the thin edge against the brass rod, making sure that it doesn't chip out or stay bent.
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I don't really know much about the brass rod test. How much force do I apply? Should I push as hard as I can to see if it will chip, or do I just push enough to see if it flexes?
 
Basically put a brass rod horizontally in a vice.
Place the nice flat on the vice with the blade perpendicular to the brass rod.
Tilt the spine of the knife upwards, while pressing the edge down. Press with enough force to deform the edge around the rod.
Once you see deformation, pick the whole blade up.
The deformed section should snap back straight. If it stays bent it's too soft, if it chips out it's too hard.
 
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