pyrometer with HT

Where I find a pyrometer handy is to turn the heat back on the burner so I'm not applying a bunch of heat all at once to the blade and heating the thin parts of the blade a lot faster than the thicker parts. I usually run the forge wide open for about 20 minutes or so to bring it up to an even temperature and then turn it back until it running at about 1600°, maybe a little lower, like around 1550° if I have to do a long soak, before I start heat treating. However, I've pretty much come to believe that steels that require a long soak, which are usually also on the complex side, would be more reliably heat treated with a regulated heat source, such as a kiln or molten salt pot.

Doug
 
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