what should be done to a knife b4 heat treating

[zaco519]

i am going to be heat treating a knife for the first time and i know there something you should do and not do like you should drill the holes lol
so what i don't know is the edges of the knife are you so post to grind it like its already heat treated meaning not to grind blade paper thin and are you so post to round the edges of the handle
it is o1 steel

 

[thegeek574]

Navigate to the Shop Talk page. look at the top of the forum threads. Find the one called "how to make a knife". Read the instructions in the first few posts, and all the posts by bladsmth for that matter, no less than 4 times. If you still have questions, come back and we will be happy to help. It is the sixth result down on the page.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Thanks Geek,
The question is so broad, that it implies you are not informed about making a knife. There is a lot of good info in the stickies.

Use this search engine ( put it in your browser bar) to look up anything on bladeforums:
http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=011197018607028182644:qfobr3dlcra
If you search "pre-HT" with it you will get a lot of info.

Filling out your profile will help us help you.

Short answer - The edge should NOT BE SHARP and be between .015'" and .040" wide, depending on the blade shape and steel type. The entire surface should be at 220 to 400 grit finish or higher. Again, steel and knife type will change the pre-HT sanding requirements.
Do all things to the knife that need to be done on softer steel before HT.