I wolud like to know how to heat treat A-2 as I have quite a bit of it and even have a fillet knife ready for heat treat.

Ron,
I don't forge air-hardening steels. I was waiting to see if anyone who actually uses A2 quite a bit would respond. Since nobody has, I'll provide some information that I have laying around. All temps are in Fahrenheit. I don't know if your stock is annealed, so I'll start with the annealing info.

A2

Annealing: 1600 F., Cool at a rate of 40 F. per hour

Hardening: Preheat at 1450 F. Harden at 1700 F. - 1800 F.

Quench Medium: Air

Hardness at Quench: 63-65 Rc

Working Hardness: 58 - 62 Rc

Tempering
<li>400 F. - 62 Rc
<li>450 F. - 61 Rc
<li>500 F. - 60 Rc
<li>550 F. - 59 Rc
<li>600 F. - 58 Rc

When I start out with a steel that's new to me, I usually go with the "text book" type treatments first, then experiment and tweak the process until I feel its optimum for me and my setup.

right on, thanks Terry, as always very helpfull. this fillet knife was the first A-2 I forged so it`s more or less a test knife!

I use A2 almost exclusively since I got an electric heat treating oven. This is the schedule that I use:

First I enclose the blade in an air-tight folder of tool wrap in which I include either a small amount of wood saw dust or small strips of paper to burn off any oxygen inside the tool wrap.
1)soak at 1400 for twenty minutes to normalize
2)soak at 1775 for another twenty minutes
Remove from tool wrap as quickly as possible, check for any warpage and place on edge (cutting edge up) on a fire brick in which I have cut shallow grooves to hold the blades. (leave subsequent blades in oven with the door shut as you remove them one at a time) I quench the blades in still air.

I double temper on consecutive days at 400 degrees for a hardness of 60-61 Rc.

Gary Mulkey
Fall Creek Knifeworks