What if we put the blade in before heating the oven?

[shqxk]

I wonder when doing hardening high alloy steel, why we dont just put the blade in the oven and then ramp up to austenitizing?

What is the benefit of putting the blade in at preheat temp or austenitizing temp?

 

[Tenebr0s]

I can't speak for high-alloy steels, but my understanding is that heat treating ovens need time to equalize in order to be an even temperature throughout. When heating up, temperatures can fluctuate vastly within the oven, drastically overshooting your target temp. There is also the problem of infrared heat being absorbed faster by the blades than by the air in the kiln.