Thinking about making some small blades, question about heat treat

bpeezer

bpeezer

Joined
Jan 27, 2013
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I'd like to make a few small fixed blades. I want to use a stainless steel, and I'm thinking about CPM 154. I have CAD files drawn up and a waterjet place nearby that could cut the blades for me, and I have a bench grinder for (attempting to) put the grinds on them.

One thing I don't have taken care of is heat treatment. I have searched around, and I'm having difficulty finding a place that does heat treatment. Are there places that will treat blades for me for a fair price, or do I have to buy a kiln for my little summer project :(

Thanks for looking!
 
Or Darrin Sanders. He is a member here and I don't think you would find much better for small quantities.

Edit: beat me to it.
 
You didn't ask but I doubt you'll be satisfied with a bench grinder. Most of us use belt sanders because bench grinders are quite inadequate.
 
The tutorial in the stickies on "How To Instructions for making a knife" cover all you will need to know using only a file and sandpaper. A bench grinder is not going to work well at all, and you will be very unhappy with the results if you use one.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/694673-How-to-instructions-for-making-a-knife

For one knife to a few, use Darren Sanders, Texas Knifemakers Supply, or one of the many other HT suppliers. Peter's HT is one of the best, but unless you are doing batches of ten or more, it isn't as cost effective. Try to use a provider that specializes in knife HT.

Peter's HT is almost in your backyard, BTW :
http://petersheattreat.com/overview.html
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into those in the next couple of days. Is there a particular belt sander that would work best? A quick amazon search shows a 4" x 36" belt sander for under $175, is that a feasible possibility or do I need to go a little more "industrial" sized?
 
Bare bones and marginally usefull to some is the Harbour Freight 1x30 for ~$75, next up would be the Sears Craftsman 2x42 grinder for ~$150. Don't forget to factor in the cost of belts.


-Xander
 
I wouldnt get anything less than the Craftsman grinder. The HF one often has terrible tracking, and will hang up and break repeatedly. Mine was a total waste; I went through 3 replacement ones, none of which worked out of box, before I just gave up. Darrin is great unless you make at least 10 blades, at which point Peters becomes more cost effective (barely), or make longer ones (Darrin only does up to 12" blades, as far as I know). I'm actually planning on sending him another one of mine soon here.
 
I have a 1x30 and it works, BARELY. It is fine to get started. My advice would be save the money at first, use the 1x30, then build a 2x72. There are a lot of links to plans in the stickies. I rough in with the 1x30, draw file to clean it up, then hand sand. My 1x30 is Mastercraft- probably the same as the HF with different branding. I did the first couple on a hand held belt sander. On the other hand, you could spend $100-150 on a GOOD set of files which will work better than any cheap belt sander.
 
I have no experience with the Craftsman but that seems to be the go-to entry level grinder. But in your original post you said you only planned on a few knives so do yourself a favor and just stick to files and sandpaper. You can always get a grinder down the road and good files will always be useful.
 
i agree with strider, test the waters first see how you like the work and then move on from there. it can get very expensive and quick.
 
If you are limited with funds, get yourself a Craftsman 2x42 belt sander. Many guys here own them and have made some excellent knives with them. Many have even put a glass platen on them. Unless you can get one for no more than maybe $30, that HF 1x30 is absolute garbage!! I own one and have used it to shape some Kydex but have not touched it in years. Save your $$
 
You are all really really helpful, thanks again! For those of you suggesting files for my first attempt, are there specific brands of files you would recommend? I think the experience will be more important than pro-grade tooling, but at the same time I don't want to go with cheapo tools that will ruin the experience for me. For my first shot at this I'll only be doing 6 knives, each about 6" OAL with roughly 3" blades.
 
You can't go wrong with Pferd files. Failing that, Nicholsons from an industrial supply house like MSC or McMaster-Carr work well.
 
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