I now have my 1/16 stock for my KITH build and I'm trying to decide if it is best to cut out the blanks and heat treat that first or start to rough grind the bevels and then heat treat? My thoughts are that this stuff is pretty thin and maybe a bit flexible so I'm unsure how to start. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
profile the blank, drill holes and flatten if needed. Heat treat and plate quench or oil quench as needed, keep clamped until at room temperature temper as needed. grind bevels attach scales and shape clean up polish etc. sharpen make sheath
I agree with John. Probably best to grind bevels after HT. Just don't forget to drill the holes before HT. LOL It hasn't happened to me yet but there is a good chance it will some day.
I do all my bevels after heat treat. Just need to be mindful of the temperature when grinding so as not to kill the hardness. Keep the dunk bucket handy and if you work with bare hands you'll know how hot the steel is getting.
Thanks guys. I usually work with 1/8 and take it down to a rough bevel, heat treat and then final grind with a new belt dunking between passes and bare hands. Of course I made my first knife in 30 years Jan 22 so it's not like I know what the hell I'm doing. If I get colour on the edge or tip showing I've heated it. How far back do I need to take it to get past the lost HT? I've had tips go blue and then ground them off carefully and hoped to be past the soft metal.
I'm of the other school -- I do all but the final edge grind before HT. It's faster, easier on belts and I don't worry too much about heating the metal. As for the case of the blue tip, I wouldn't try to grind it out. I'd normalize and do another heat treat to be sure. If you're getting the tip up to blue, you need decrease the pressure as you grind (lot's of very light passes). Also dunk every few seconds to keep it cool.
