To grind or not to grind?

gull wing

Well-Known Member
I've sent my blades to the hardeners for a long time with the blades about 60 - 70 % complete. Never a warped blade.

Now that I will be hardening my own soon, the question comes up again. To grind or not to grind.
 
Then I would take them to 95% - perhaps 1000 grit. Most quality Heat Treaters these days will send them back nearly as shiny as you sent them, with little more than some blue oxides that should clean off on the buffer. Excetions would be anything oil quenched, and very thin (1/16) or long and somewhat thin (12"+ 3/32 fillet knives) that can be prone to warping. Those are often best ground after HT.
 
KnifeMaker.ca is spot on as usual :) Follow his guidelines and you will save worry, trouble and the mind-numbing heartache of hand-sanding deep scratches out of hardened high-alloy steel.
 
Not what you want to hear but I say to grind em hard. You should be able to easily grind them to 600 grit and finish by hand. No warp problems this way.
 
Back
Top