Thread: Yep, you break them...

Mike,

Thank you!!

The information you provide this forum is always invaluable!!

All the best,

Lynn

the bigest thing i have found when HTing other ppls work is that they dont leave much blade for post HT grinding
i leave all parts of the razor or knife oversized so that if something does walk a bit off center i have the meat to reflatten everything then re center the edge on the blade comparred to the spine

Mike, I did not mean to say you screwed up or he did in using you to do his HT. I just wanted to know who he used. I am getting my first batch of knives and razors ground and expect to send them out for HT. I have heard good things about Peters from knife makers forums (and excellent things about Bros).

He did learn that you can't bend a cold hardened blade to fix a warp. If you say you looked at the warp when it could be corrected and felt it was not an issue then I will not say you are wrong. The tang would be easy to grind out anything like that out and that is what I would have done. I am the type to expect a blade to be only ~80% finished when going out to HT and like you say some custom makers on some steels do all grinding after HT. Actually for the razors I was thinking to do most of the grinding after HT to have more steel to help prevent and correct any warping.

Sorry you took offense at something read into my comment.

Well said, Mike.

No offense taken, my hide is pretty thick.

Originally Posted by Silver2

You should know better!
That is why you see all the chiped blades out there they fracture instead of bending.
At least the blade was nice and flat.

I am not sure but it may be possible to wrap the blade with a wet rag and silver solder or braze it back together.

Good luck.
Silver2

Ouch...
+1 on that is why damaged blades are cracked and chipped.

My hindsight thought is that the tang could have been ground
true and the removed steel compensated for with brass
washers between the scales and the pivot point.

Depending on the tool shop kit it may prove quicker to grind a
new blade. If someone had a fine TIG welder it might be possible
to weld the broken bits while keeping the blade cool in water. Then
grind flat and use brass washers to adjust for dimensional loss.

Each time I see someone post results like this I think that
the price we pay for quality razors is a bargain. It is hard
to do correctly, if it was easy a razor would cost $5.

Thanks for sharing.

I have and will use Mike again and Butch...it's according to what steel I am working with and what batches they use. Both of their heat treating is top notch. I knew about the potato chip blade before I even sent it to Mike as well as Mike told me that I could heat the tang on this particular blade to soften it...I was hard headed and even knew it before I broke it that it was about to snap...it's now a nice blade for a leatherworking friend of mine! Do-do happens and as long as you are learning you are doing ok.

I post my work to show others that if I can do it with my limited tools, knowledge, and experience that everyone else can as well. The countless hours and little cash I have been out has all been worth the journey. It's because of guys like Mike and Butch (the other pro's as well) that I even tried this. To have the pleasure of grabbing a razor that "I" made and shave with it is awesome. Once you do make one, you will see why the pro's are getting the prices they are for their blades...even with the tools that they have I'm sure that they aren't even making fair wages after time, material, and wear-n-tear on said equipment is accounted for.

Hello Shooter,

Is there any way you can salvage the blade by turning it into some sort of frameback?

Thanks,
Mike

I couldn't let that good piece of hard steel go to waste...a friend now has a nice specialized "leather knife" for his leatherwork. He's one of those top notch saddle makers and loves it. He just can't get over how well it holds an edge.