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Knife Steels And Heat Treating
Why These Steel Choices Matter To You And How They Affect The Properties Of Your Heirloom Knife
In custom knifemaking, a botched heat treat gone unnoticed lasts forever, and will forever affect the performance of your knife. But so will a bang up custom heat treat that is tailored to the needs of YOUR knife! We can change a handle that doesn't feel or look right, we can refinish blade or handle. Resharpening and even reprofiling blades are definitely things we can do. But generally speaking, redoing a bad heat treat after a custom knife is finished is not a simple task. So it has to be done right the first time, every time.
The articles below talk about steel choices and some of the different operations lumped under the term "Heat Treating". Just find an article that interests you and click to read!
The Great Steel Debate - The debate as to whether carbon or stainless is the better choice for custom knives has raged for decades, with facts and falsehoods flying in both directions. Current stainless steels are far different in quality, hardness, and toughness than those available for custom knife makers fifty years ago, and the quality gap has closed significantly. Learn a little about carbon and stainless steels, and put some of those old myths to bed!! Read More HERE!
Properties of Steel-- Every Steel has a different personality and set of characteristics. The steel your knife is made from imparts some of its own personality to your knife. And some knife steels are better for certain uses than others, and a proper heat treatment can enhance the qualities of a given steel. To learn more Click HERE!
What is Heat Treating Of Steel?? - What it heat treating? What does heat treating knives do to the steel? Why does it matter? Let's go over some of the basics of various heat treating terms and operations, and answer a few questions! Just click to the article HERE!
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