Back to basics

[Doug Lester]

Went to a knife show yesterday down in Mt. Vernon to see about hooking up with some knifesmiths or at least getting an objedtive aprasial on my work. Seems like my main problem is with heat treating. We established that I was getting the blade too hot for quenching and probabl not getting an even heat on the blade. As suggested by someone on this board or one of the others that I posted to, I hope to get around it by putting a piece of 3" schedual 40 pipe into the gas forge for heat treating. My question now is which is less likely to cause warping, a full quench or an edge quench? I also found out that I'm going to have to get the blades just a little straighter. Probably should use a straight edge to judge straightness rather than trying to do it by eye. Evedently my eye isn't that good.

Doug Lester

[DiamondG Knives]

Doug

On straightness, A trick I learned is to coat your blade with something, marker, layout dye ect, then sand the blade on a piece of glass, or granite block. The idea here is that a true flat surface will cut true flat. This will show you where the blade isn't touching the paper, thus not flat and true. I was amazed the first time I tried this! A had a blade that I felt was flat and true. NOT SO!! Really is a good way to get a good perspective on your blade.

I too use the pipe method. I took a piece os 2 1/2 black pipe, heated in the forge, and pinched the end shut. This may not be the best way, but I didn't have an end cap!

I place my blade tang outside the pipe and let it get good and hot, then put the blade in point first, edge up (a small piece of soft fire brick with a slot cut in it helps hold it this way). I get a good slow heat, and the ability to "soak" at the temp Im wanting without worrying that the blade will over heat in a short amount of time. In a nut shell, its a slower, gentler, more controlled heating. This seems to work well for me, in my gas forge.

Hope this info helps!

God Bless
Mike

[Doug Lester]

Well, I straighened to blade today on the anvil and checked the straightness with the edge of a square. Used the pipe by blocking off one end with furnace patch and tossing a few pieces of charcoal into it to control the atmospher. Not 100% on even distribution of heat with in forge but a whole lot better. The charcoal pieces in the pipe has been the best thing that I havd found so far for cutting down on fire scale.

Doug Lester