[samuraistuart]

That is absolutely NOT true. AEBL has a pearlite nose of 2 minutes. That means that bevels cut already equals a thinner edge (much thinner) than if straight profiled. Hence a simple air cool will cool the edge fast enough without plates, as it doesn't have the mass. As long as the steel gets below the pearlite nose in 2 minutes, you will achieve max HRC.

Peter's and other professional HT places do not use plates. I thought they did, turns out I was wrong. They hang them in still air (Peters anyway) Every single AEBL blade I've sent to Peter's, with the exception of 2, had bevels ground prior to HT and an edge width of 0.015". All came back at the exact HRC I requested, 62. They do test on the flat (Ricasso), as you cannot test HRC on an already ground bevel, unless that bevel is dead flat and square to the penetrator.

You can make plates contact pre ground bevels, unless you have a hollow grind. In which case you would need plates with the same radius as your hollow. But again, if the bevels are already cut, then the temp drops even faster, thus allowing for the pearlite nose to be beaten even faster than if the edge was full thickness.