Tips and Tricks

Here are a few tips for dealing with some of the places where things commonly go wrong. Dealing With Warpage Sometimes the blade comes out of the quench crooked. It can be straightened hot, above roughly 500 degrees, immediately after the quench. Use welding gloves. Once it’s cool, it can be straightened during the temper cycles. Clamp the blade to a piece of steel that is flat. Use shims if necessary. Run through temper cycles as usual. Sometimes takes a bit of trial and error, but works almost every time. If you want a two-piece knife, go ahead and try and straighten one cold by [...]