I have heard that there are some things formed when subjected to very low temperatures (-300 ) that increase the cutting efficiency of knives. What does the temperature and soak time of the steel do to the formation of the carbides when quenched, the quench temperature, the length of time in the Martinsite transformation zone, time of tempering, number of cycles of tempering, and the difference of the carbides at the different tempering tempratures. Lots of questions and hopefully some answers.
Does the cryogenics make up for a less that perfect heat treat? Does the same increases (% wise) happen to the same steel with different techniques in heat treating.
These are just some of the things that I have never been able to find out from books that are designed for thicker pieces and have different applications. For knife making, thin parts, is there that much done with all the different variables?
Sorry for all the questions, but the link to some reading would maybe help a lot of people that seek the ultimate in knife performance in relation to heat treating.