Full Answer
How thick should a knife blade be?
It will save you a lot of grinding time if you take time to find material of the proper size. For the beginner, a blade thickness of no more than 1/8 inch is good because there is not as much material to grind off. The tendency today is to make hunting and utility knives out of 1/4-inch-thick steel.
Should you remove the edge of a knife after heat treatment?
It’s best to leave approximately 20 percent of the steel to take off after the heat treatment. Edges can warp or crack when they are too thin going into the quench process. Leaving some material to take off after heat-treat makes the quench operation a lot safer for the blade.
How thick should the edge of a quenching edge be?
2) To establish the thickness of the edge, I like to make two lines with approximately 1/32-inch between the two. Grinding to the line from each side will leave approximately the correct thickness at the edge to make it safe for the quenching operation.
What is a heat-treated knife?
As knifemakers, we can utilize the extreme forms that steel can be heat-treated to for our advantage. The best example of this is a blade that has been either selectively hardened or selectively tempered. Such a blade can have an extremely hard edge, yet withstand a 90-degree flex test.
How thick should Edge be before heat treat?
The following grind stock should be left on the edge of the blades: Air hard edge thickness: 0.015” minimum. Oil hard edge thickness: 0.030” minimum.
How thick should a heat treat knife be?
Well-Known Member. . 030-. 040" thick before heat treat, this also helps to prevent the edge from warping and cracking, and leaves plenty of thickness to clean up.
What is the final step to the heat treating process when making a knife?
8:1512:13How To Heat Treat A Knife | The 4 Steps You NEED To Know - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo be prepared for a flame. So how long should you leave the blade to cool in the oil. Now. In orderMoreSo be prepared for a flame. So how long should you leave the blade to cool in the oil. Now. In order for the blade to harden it needs to cool below about 900 degrees in one to two seconds.
How long should a blade be tempered?
To reduce the brittleness, the material is tempered, usually by heating it to 175–350°C (347–662°F) for 2 hours, which results in a hardness of 53–63 HRC and a good balance between sharpness retention, grindability and toughness.
What is Peters Heat Treat?
Peters' Heat Treating provides services for the custom knife maker. Turnaround time is currently four weeks (from receipt of your order to when we return ship it). Christmas orders must be received prior to Thanksgiving in order to assure receipt prior to the Christmas holiday. We heat treat ALL grades of steel.
What are the 3 stages of heat treatment process?
Stages of Heat TreatmentThe Heating Stage.The Soaking Stage.The Cooling Stage.
What can go wrong during heat treatment?
MOST OF THE PROBLEMS in heat- treated parts are attributed to faulty heat- treatment practices (such as overheating and burning, and nonuniform heating and quench- ing), deficiency in the grade of steels used, part defect, improper grinding, and/or poor part design.
Do you quench after tempering?
Tempering is most often performed on steel that has been heated above its upper critical (A3) temperature and then quickly cooled, in a process called quenching, using methods such as immersing the hot steel in water, oil, or forced-air.
Can you over temper a knife?
Tempering temperatures above 662°F should be avoided, as they can cause reduced corrosion resistance as well as brittleness. If the treated blade is exposed to a heat that's higher than the tempering temperature (for example, during grinding), the knife properties will be impaired.
Can metal be heat treated twice?
Twice-tempering is simply a process whereby the steel is heated and then cooled twice in succession, not necessarily at the same temperature each time.
Do you need to temper steel after hardening?
The short, simple answer is yes. It is mandatory to temper the steel after it has been hardened. This is simply because a new phase has been created, which is martensite. Remember that it is necessary to progress into the austenite phase before martensite can be created.
How thick should a knife blade be?
It will save you a lot of grinding time if you take time to find material of the proper size. For the beginner, a blade thickness of no more than 1/8 inch is good because there is not as much material to grind off. The tendency today is to make hunting and utility knives out of 1/4-inch-thick steel.
How fast does a Norton SG hoger remove steel?
A hard-wheel grinder works fine for shaping the profile, however, half-dull ceramic belts, like the Norton SG Hogger on a belt grinder, will remove steel at least four times faster.
What is a drop point knife?
The blade is known as a “dropped point.”. I call it a utility shape. If you look up “utility” in a dictionary, you’ll find something like, “the quality of being of practical use.”. The advantages of the drop-point blade are many when compared to the upturned point on some commercial and handmade knives.
What is martensite steel?
When heated to a certain point and cooled quickly, the steel becomes hard, brittle and full of stress; this is called the quench. This form of steel is known as “martensite.” Martensite, as it comes from the quenching process, is brittle, full of stress and unsuitable for a knife. Heating the martensite to a lower temperature will soften it somewhat, relieve the stress, and if the temperature was correct, the result will be a serviceable product. The low temperature treatment, usually between 375- 500 F, is called tempering, or drawing the temper.
Is it good to make mockups of knives?
For these reasons, it’s always good to make mock-ups of new designs. This gives you non-working models to hold in your hands, and that’s just one more step towards real knives of good designs. If you’re still learning how to make knives, this is a great book to show you the ropes. Click the cover.
Does a knife have a handle?
A modern knife is apt to have a plastic-based handle material. These materials are waterproof, strong and dependable. Sharpening will eventually wear out a blade, but of the countless elements that can attack natural handle materials, few, if any, will have an effect on Micarta®.
Is a project knife a good knife?
The design for the project knife is practical and simple from a construction standpoint. Although a simple knife, it’s also a good working knife. History is on our side because it was simple working knives that got meat from the hoof and into the kettle.
Dan Scott
Before heat treating, ideally you want the edge to be about the thickness of a dime (actually putting a dime up against the edge is a perfect measure to see whether you're ready to HT). If it's down to sharp, the blade will be much more prone to warpage and possibly breaking.
Jake Mendelson
Thank you. That helps a lot. As for the rest of the knife that aren't bevels or blades, such as the handle and flat part of the blade, can I just sand those down to "take the grime off" before I heat treat or does it really not matter?
Jake Mendelson
I'm using what was marked as a tool steel that I bought from Lowe's. I'm not sure the exact number since I'm not home at the moment, but will post it as soon as I am.
Alan Longmire
Hmmmm... Lowes doesn't sell tool steel that I'm aware of. They sell what they call "weldable steel" and galvanized steel, both of which are alloy A36, a mild steel not suitable for blades as it doesn't harden. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but such is life.
Jake Mendelson
You are correct. Checked a different Lowe's today and it was marked as weldable steel. I'll probably do as you said and just use the blade for practice and just order some steel off of McMaster due to the lack of local places that sell it. That being said, is there a chance someone could point me in the direction of a good steel to use?
jake cleland
O1 would be a great choice for a small stock removal knife - it's usually supplied in a spherodised state, so its very easy to drill, file etc, and the heat treatment is pretty idiot proof from that state. it is also usually supplied as precision ground flat stock, so its easy to lay out your design and you have true flats to work off.
Dan Scott
I haven't used O1, but from what Jake said, it sounds great for what you're doing. If you're looking to forge a blade, 1080 is a very forgiving and easy to work with steel, so it's great to start out using it.