Torches

[ajcz]

what kind of torch do i need for heat treating and tempering? or anneling somthing lke a carbon steel saw blade? also i have heard about Mapp gas is this the best gas to use if so why is it the best choice?? :foot:

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

ajcz,slow down boy you are going to give yourself a hernia or something.Please read up on knife making,and do some searches.
A simple propane or MAPP gas torch (plumbers torch,blow torch)will do the job for many things.The heat source is not as important as knowing how to heat treat.MAPP gas is a blend of propane and acetylene,it burns hotter,but costs more.
Not knowing what you are doing can make a HT oven into a propane bomb.Please order ,at least, "The $50 knife shop",by Wayne Goddard.

 

[blgoode]

I use Oxy/acetylene set up.......send a few blades off to Heat treat first.....

 

[Peter_E_Ryt]

Hey man- slow down.
I'm was interested in making knives at 13 too, and here's how I started. I bought the following books:
The $50 Knife Shop
The Wonder of Knife Making
How to Make Knives
With that info, I was ready to start. They answered the questions that you had, provided the steps to HT, forging, and grinding a blade. I ground out a pretty nice blade, but lacked the resources for HT. I read up some more, now have my Kawool and ITC-100 on their way from AnvilFire as we speak, and have the forge design layed out. With a little patience and some easy reading (each one of those books is pretty interesting, though highly similar in what they say), you'll be started, and the basic questions gone. Here are some other links which you can read up on for Knife making info:
http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=3872

http://swordforum.com/metallurgy/ites.html

http://forums.swordforum.com/index.php?

**** Hundreds of stock removal tutorials: http://www.knifenetwork.com/workshop/index.shtml ****

Have some fun while reading, and think each one over.