Knife making oven

[wolfers]

Hi all, How many of you knife makers use an oven for heat teatrment and forging? What kind do you use and where can they be gotten from? Thanks.

 

[Birddog6]

Call Texas Knives and Koval Knives & ask for a catalog. The list dif sizes & etc. Also youmay be able to vied them from their web sites.

 

[benvenuto]

firstly an oven is for baking, and a furnace or forge is for forging

if you want a gas forge, they are easy enogh to build yourself
http://ronreil.abana.org/

http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/forges/microfrg.htm

 

[benvenuto]

firstly an oven is for baking, and a furnace or forge is for forging

if you want a gas forge, they are easy enogh to build yourself
http://ronreil.abana.org/

http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/forges/microfrg.htm

 

[blacksmithshoppe]

I just use a big chunk of iron that I heat in my coal forge to draw back the blade. First I bring the blade up to a cherry red and quench it in motor oil to harden it, then clean it off and draw it back to a robin egg blue color on the iron block heat in the forge. Here is a blade I roughed out today.
Jeff

 

[LRB]

The ovens are not for forging, but will give you a superior heat treat because you can let the blade soak long enough at a set temperature to get a homogenous solution in the steel before quench, and a much better temper. The real draw back is the cost. Tim Zowada has the best prices, about $100.oo cheaper than most. An even better way to go, if you are handy at do it yourself projects, would be a molten salt system. This heat treat method is the ultimate in heat treating, but you still cannot use it as a forge. If you buy, or make a forge, you can use your kitchen range for the tempering as long as you have an accurate oven thermometer. Do not trust your range settings. There is a way of using an iron pipe in a forge, rigged with a pyrometer, to allow a soak. Heat control is tricky, however it is do-able.

 

[davy]

The ovens are not for forging, but will give you a superior heat treat because you can let the blade soak long enough at a set temperature to get a homogenous solution in the steel before quench, and a much better temper. The real draw back is the cost. Tim Zowada has the best prices, about $100.oo cheaper than most. An even better way to go, if you are handy at do it yourself projects, would be a molten salt system. This heat treat method is the ultimate in heat treating, but you still cannot use it as a forge. If you buy, or make a forge, you can use your kitchen range for the tempering as long as you have an accurate oven thermometer. Do not trust your range settings. There is a way of using an iron pipe in a forge, rigged with a pyrometer, to allow a soak. Heat control is tricky, however it is do-able.

Hey Wicke

Can you explain your methods of salt bath process to us? I know you can use it for quenching OR heat treating. Any links or photos of equip you use to do so? I know very little about it. What salts do you use etc?

Thanx :hatsoff:

Davy

 

[LRB]

Hi Davy. I don't use the salt method, I just know it is the best. There are things that can be done with salts that cannot be done otherwise. I believe some use bluing salts, other use salts made just for this. There are many advantages to the salt treat. There is no scale, no decarb, more even heat, and the heat is easier to control. When a blade is quenched, there is no chance of a flare up. This method also allows a near perfect marquench and is the best way to produce bainite in those steels that benefit from it. I cannot afford to set up for it at this time, but maybe down the road a bit.

 

[laffingman67]

The Ron Reil site is very informative for a gas forge. I have the T-Rex burner in my home shop. Works excellently. I agree with Mr. Elerbe about the molten salt system. I myself have never used it, but many smiths of higher caliber than myself swear by this system. I use my home oven with a separate pyrometer sitting in it. My wife's over is about 25 degrees off. But, all this high tech stuff aside, the beginner can't go wrong with a brake drum forge and a hunk of rail to get them started down this twisted path of forging. Oh, and don't get too attached to your cash either. :yakyak:

 

[44-henry]

I recently purchased a heat treatment furnace (yes furnace not oven) from Brownells, it has a limited size chamber, roughly 9" square, but it is reasonably priced and will work very well within that size range. If your interested here is the link:
[url] http://www.brownells.com/aspx...le=NEYCRAFT+MANUAL+CONTROL+FIBER+FURNACE[/url]

 

[Joe Yanta]

I use a propane forge for all of my hammer and anvil work and an electric Paragon heat treating oven for heat treating. There is a book by Wayne Goddard titled "fifty dollar knife shop". It is a great book to start out with. He has directions for a one brick forge and how to make really decent knives. I recommend starting off slow and work your investment into the equipment slowly.

Joe

 

[crockett]

I have tried the one brick forge and I think it is over rated. You need fire brick, which heats up red. You must work with small blades and if the heat isn't even you end up with a lot of warping. Build a decent forge. The main idea is a long even heat soak. You can also normalize, anneal steel and do all sorts of other good things with a larger, more powerful forge. I know Wayne Goddard uses the one brick forge but he is a pro and can do a lot of things mere mortals can't.

 

[chipper]

I use my toaster oven to temper

Regards
Loyd