[WNC Goater]

I'm not on the verge of buying anything and I know there is about an equal division between the Paragon and Evenheat. So my question isn't about that(Though I'm always interested in experience and why you chose THIS one over THAT one)

I currently use my burnout oven at work for HT, however it is limited as far as length. I have an order for a butcher knife of damascus steel that will be about 14" OAL per customer's request. I will have to heat/quench/harden using my propane forge as 14" won't fit in my oven. Which again, raises an interest in perhaps buying a blade oven.

Sorry, long winded, on to the specifics...

1. Does this oven need to be vented? My oven at work I have a kitchen stove fan/vent over the oven, vented to the outdoors. But we burn out wax and resins and the venting is to remove wax fumes. So does a knife oven need venting to remove heat or does that much heat exude forth?

2. How quick is the recovery DOWN from high heat? In other words, how long after heating a blade to the 1500? range does it take for it to stabilize at 425? for tempering? Is it feasible to expect to be able to do the first tempering in the oven I just quenched/hardened from?
My work oven takes a while so I go from the quenching oil into a 2 hour temper with a toaster oven. It takes that long for the oven to lose heat enough to stabilize @ 425? for the second temper and requires the door be left open as the walls retain a lot of heat and take time to cool.

I'm investigating the viability & convenience of having an oven at home but if there is no advantage or outside venting is necessary then there are a lot of other things to invest that amount of money in.