Not too long ago I pulled out some of my "Mike-Gyver" tricks and made a hommade steel forge with an old BBQ Grill, Fire Bricks, and an Air Mattress Inflator. It's worked out well thus far and my skills with shaping have improved dramatically, I've made arrowheads, spear points, and knives. I've just finished a knife I made from rebar and it's great; the feel, the balance, the size, the angle...you'd never know it was once rebar.
Now to the meat of the issue. Steel is soft (for steel) right out of the forge and requires tempering and hardening. I've watched a ton of "you tube" videos trying to get the information I want and have been through the trials of test runs with quenching in oil etc. I've learned to keep the steel in a north south orientation to reduce warping, but my confusion lies in do you "harden and temper", "Harden or Temper" if both, which order or can I simply harden the edge alone and leave the spine soft?
I've got a 4 day weekend this weekend and plan to fire it up (the forge) and try to treat the knife so I can start on the handle and sheath.
Now to the meat of the issue. Steel is soft (for steel) right out of the forge and requires tempering and hardening. I've watched a ton of "you tube" videos trying to get the information I want and have been through the trials of test runs with quenching in oil etc. I've learned to keep the steel in a north south orientation to reduce warping, but my confusion lies in do you "harden and temper", "Harden or Temper" if both, which order or can I simply harden the edge alone and leave the spine soft?
I've got a 4 day weekend this weekend and plan to fire it up (the forge) and try to treat the knife so I can start on the handle and sheath.