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Question for all you knife builders out there.

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jonathan creason:
Did you get the steel hot enough to change colors while cutting or grinding?  If not, then you should be ok.  If you had some blue spots pop up though, those areas will be soft and won't hold an edge very well.  If you're having trouble shaping it bringing the steel up to red hot and letting it air cool (normalizing) a couple of times would make it much easier to work with.  You'll definitely have to heat treat after this, though.

I've seen in a couple of places that those blades are 5160 steel.  Heat treating it is pretty simple, just normalize a few times then bring the steel up to non-magnetic and quench in oil.  After that place it in an oven preheated to 350 for a couple of cycles at least an hour long.

Adam:
Thanks Jonathan.  It never changed color at all.  I went at it really slow.  I tried to drill a couple holes in for pins to line up the wood handles and I finally was able to drill through after ruining two bits.  The steel seems really hard to me.  I should have annealed it first.  I still have a lot to learn.  The edge is coming along ok with hand filing and very little Dremeling.  If I don't need to heat and quench, is there any benefit to putting it in the oven for tempering?  This has been a fun project and I appreciate all the help to keep me from messing it up!

madcrow:
Those blades are already heat treated and tempered to take a beating.  On the next one, you could try using a torch and just heat teh handle are to non magnetic and then let it cool down on its own.  Just lay it on a cinder block or concrete floor.  That will anneal it and make the handle softer.  If you feel the blade is too hard, then follow the heat treat and temper that jonathon described and that should soften the blade some.  Industrial bandsaw blades about an inch wide are heat treated and tempered already also.  They can make some nice patch knives and trade points.  Just cut, grind and put the handles on.

jonathan creason:
At this point putting it in the oven for tempering will only make the steel softer.  If it's too hard and the edges are chipping this would be a good idea, but that's it.  Test the blade before you put the scales on to make sure the edge isn't too hard or too soft.  A great way to do this is the brass rod test.  Put a brass rod flat on a bench and pull the edge across it at about the same angle you'd sharpen it at.  You should be able to see the edge bend around the rod and then fall right back to its original shape.  If it's too soft it'll stay bent, and if it's too hard it'll chip.

Adam:
Great!  Thanks again for the help.  That's the first I've heard of testing with a brass rod.  I'll certainly give that a try.

Madcrow, the build alongs you posted in the past have been a great resource for me.  Thanks!

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