Thread: Heat treat oven shopping :<0)

It is true that with an oven like that, you can do decent heat treatment from the first blade.
However, even with fire and iron, it is really just a matter of doing it enough so that you get repeatable results.
I've done so many blades this way that I know exactly what is going on. The quality of the blades you do in an oven isn't better or worse than what I do with fire. The only difference is your learning curve and how much experience you need.

For me it's also a point that I just wanted to learn how to do because I wanted to be able to do it like the smiths used to.
And since I usually do forging as well as HT when I light my fire, the overhead is low.

I love the way you do it for sure and learning all that is on my list of things to do. When I get a different place the blacksmith shop is going to be 2nd consideration after top notch out house of course :<0)

Well that is true of course. You have to have a decent forge fire.
It doesn't have to be expensive (mine was self made and dirt cheap in materials) but you have to have a place where a roaring fire, smoke, and fireflies are not an issue

Wrong thread.