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High-Performance Blades Sharing ideas for getting the most out of our steel. |
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#1
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Heat tret prep for a small knife
I've been messing around with scrap steel and basic grinding tools for as long as I can remember, but never really did anything worthy of the name "Knifemaking", except perhaps the one blade I actually finished and made a sheath for (the heat treating I tried with a torch didn't give any results worth mentioning).
A few years back I got a bunch of 154-CM stock from TKS, and actually roughed one piece into a blade-like shape a few yers back, but without any skill in the grinding area, left it at that. On product of this process was that I had what was, up until a few days ago, a 2cm*25.5cm piece of scrap from the cutting of my blade profile. I've always considered making something with it, and a few days ago I started filing/grinding a 10" "toothpick" out of it. I've also tapered the tang, trying to put the balance point a wee bit closer to the blade (right now it's .5cm from where the bolster should be) Anyway, I was thinking of getting this 'thing' heat treated. How far should I take the grinding? It's a nice, clean profile on the tang, with the blade still showing a few uneven file marks (I don't want to take too much more off) Should I have sharp corners, or round them off a bit? Can I do any drilling (pin holes and weight reduction) in the tang, or should I pick up some better bits and wait untill the tempering is finished? Will a trialngular blade cause warpage during heat-treat/cryro? Thanks in advance for any replies, this board is one of the coolest discoveries I've made in a while... __________________ -Daniel Jackson (\__/) (='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into (")_(") your signature to help him gain world domination. |
#2
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If you're finishing by hand, do as much as possible before heat treat. For sure, drill all the holes before heat treat. Rounding over sharp edges is usually never good. Leave them clean and crisp. If you send the blade to Paul Bos for heat treating, he'll straighten it if it warps. All mine do. Enjoy!
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#3
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Thanks for the quick reply.
How much scale should I expect on 154CM when treated, using SS foil-wrap, or an impurity-free oven/quench? I'm really concerned about over-grinding, as I want lots of steel left for hollow grinding/polishing/sharpening. How thin can I grind the blade before it will warp during HT? It started as 1/8" stock with a max blade width of 10cm(7cm at 3cm from the tip); Would a hollow grind make this to thin and fragile to treat? Second question: Does anyone in Canada (preferably Alberta) do heat treating (with cryro treatment)? Or would it be easiest to send it to someone like TKS or even someone like Paul Bos? If I were going to send a blade south I would wait untill I finish another blade, so I would only pay cross-border S&H once. __________________ -Daniel Jackson (\__/) (='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into (")_(") your signature to help him gain world domination. |
#4
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Quote:
Am I correct in assuming that warpage during HT is caused mostly because of uneven heating; either due to the placement within an oven, or because of uneven heat absorbtion from poor grinding/geometry? If so, how would this affect a triangular blade cross-section? Has anyone here ever tried a thin, narrow triangular blade before? Another question: how do I attach neoprene-type scales to the tang? Will pins actually do anything, or do I need rivets/knifemaker's bolts? Will it stay with just the epoxy to hold it? __________________ -Daniel Jackson (\__/) (='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into (")_(") your signature to help him gain world domination. Last edited by Daniel J; 10-06-2002 at 04:04 PM. |
#5
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Warping is mostly caused by internal stresses in the steel being relieved during hardening. If the steel is ground unevenly or is overheated more on one side than the other, it will tend to warp. There is very little "scale" after heat treat when foil (well sealed) or an atmospherically controlled oven are used. It is mostly just discoloration, and that is mostly from the tempering, rather than hardening.
It is almost impossible for me to judge how your blade will fair during heat treat, without actually seeing it. It should be OK though. If in doubt leave more material before HT, but expect it to be much harder to work afterwards. Neoprene can be attached with epoxy and pins will help a lot. If you roughen the pins before epoxying them in place, they will hold very well. That's what I use anyway. |
#6
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__________________ -Daniel Jackson (\__/) (='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into (")_(") your signature to help him gain world domination. Last edited by Daniel J; 10-08-2002 at 12:33 AM. |
#7
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Nice. It will probably warp, but it should be easily straightened by your heat treater. I think it almost has to warp towards the flat side, but it can be straightened before tempering. Paul Bos does that as a matter of practice.
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