What makes heat treatment and forging important?
A whole mess of problems can arise from poor temperature regulation. If the working is too hot or if the cooling is too slow, the steel develops a large grained structure, making it brittle. On the other hand, if its being worked too cold the steel will warp when it cools. If the blade is off in final heat treatment, its easy for the steel to form an incorrect microstructure when quenched. Therefore, good heat treatment and forging expertise is essential. Larger forges often place speed over quality control in this area. Most of our models are produced in small batches. Q: Hot forging or stock-removal? A: The repeated application of force on the metal causes the material to become stronger and harder. There is a great deal of anecdotal evidence from blade makers that suggests forging improves edge holding, density, and the overall structure of a blade. While blades made by stock-removal do not benefit from work hardening, the process is also cable of producing very fine blades as demon