Review Texas Knifemakers Supply Heat Treat

T

Ten_Mile_Knives

Joined
Feb 9, 2018
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100
I've been casually making knives for three years now and I've been using TKS heat treating service. I started using them in the last year when I started using stainless because they were the cheapest I could find. I noticed that there isn't really any discussion about them.

I have sent them five knife blanks (2x 440-c, 1x s30-v, 1x CPM 4v, and 1x A-2) at this point and I'd say they aren't perfect, but they're good for what you pay. I was most happy with the 4v, maybe that's just 4v being awesome, or they managed to get it above the 57-58 they say they aim for, but it has held an edge forever and was very hard to grind with Alumina belts. When you call, you get a quick answer from an employee there in the shop, I've spoken to a number of people there and they all seem plenty personable. They are also pretty open to just chatting with you about your steels and heat treating so it was nice to chew their ear for a bit as a newbie.

The service they provide breaks down into different categories by steel, additional "bells and whistles" like a cryo treatment cost extra (but still less than other places). There isn't complementary Rockwell C testing but all of the knives I've gotten back seem to be around the 58 range just based on their feel on the grinder. I have had one knife come back warped and I was unable to correct it, so it became a grain size test if you know what I mean. That one could have been my fault, or could have been a bad piece of A-2 steel, but it didn't seem like they tried correcting it much.

I recently sent them 6 blades that should be arriving there today and I will update when I get them back. They were 1x CTS-XHP, 3x 440c, 2x Elmax. I asked them to aim for 60-62 on the XHP and Elmax so I will try to gauge with the grinder if they feel harder than the 440c. I figure this will be the real test, 57 is fine for an outdoors knife but for EDC and kitchen stuff I need higher hardness.

So in summary I have been generally happy with what they offer for the price, If I am not happy with this next batch I will probably switch to PETERS but If it works out I would certainty recommend them for anyone on a budget, a new maker, or someone who isn't just aiming for the highest hardness.

Best regards,
"XMK"
 
Ten_Mile_Knives said:
I've been casually making knives for three years now and I've been using TKS heat treating service. I started using them in the last year when I started using stainless because they were the cheapest I could find. I noticed that there isn't really any discussion about them.

I have sent them five knife blanks (2x 440-c, 1x s30-v, 1x CPM 4v, and 1x A-2) at this point and I'd say they aren't perfect, but they're good for what you pay. I was most happy with the 4v, maybe that's just 4v being awesome, or they managed to get it above the 57-58 they say they aim for, but it has held an edge forever and was very hard to grind with Alumina belts. When you call, you get a quick answer from an employee there in the shop, I've spoken to a number of people there and they all seem plenty personable. They are also pretty open to just chatting with you about your steels and heat treating so it was nice to chew their ear for a bit as a newbie.

The service they provide breaks down into different categories by steel, additional "bells and whistles" like a cryo treatment cost extra (but still less than other places). There isn't complementary Rockwell C testing but all of the knives I've gotten back seem to be around the 58 range just based on their feel on the grinder. I have had one knife come back warped and I was unable to correct it, so it became a grain size test if you know what I mean. That one could have been my fault, or could have been a bad piece of A-2 steel, but it didn't seem like they tried correcting it much.

I recently sent them 6 blades that should be arriving there today and I will update when I get them back. They were 1x CTS-XHP, 3x 440c, 2x Elmax. I asked them to aim for 60-62 on the XHP and Elmax so I will try to gauge with the grinder if they feel harder than the 440c. I figure this will be the real test, 57 is fine for an outdoors knife but for EDC and kitchen stuff I need higher hardness.

So in summary I have been generally happy with what they offer for the price, If I am not happy with this next batch I will probably switch to PETERS but If it works out I would certainty recommend them for anyone on a budget, a new maker, or someone who isn't just aiming for the highest hardness.

Best regards,
"XMK"
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I'm not sure that by feel on a grinder is a process that is usually done. I think it would be pretty difficult to come anywhere close across that broad of range of steel types.
As for straightness, are you grinding novels before you heat treat? If you don't get the bevels perfect its going to make your blades warp. If its Aeb-l then just about anything that you do even drilling holes will make it warp. Peter's gives you some torch straightening with a order, 15 minutes iirc. JTknives JTknives does heat treatment as well and from his post I'm pretty sure Rc is included but I'm not sure about straightening.
 
Storm W said:
I'm not sure that by feel on a grinder is a process that is usually done. I think it would be pretty difficult to come anywhere close across that broad of range of steel types.
As for straightness, are you grinding novels before you heat treat? If you don't get the bevels perfect its going to make your blades warp. If its Aeb-l then just about anything that you do even drilling holes will make it warp. Peter's gives you some torch straightening with a order, 15 minutes iirc. JTknives JTknives does heat treatment as well and from his post I'm pretty sure Rc is included but I'm not sure about straightening.
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ha yeah, that is by no means a scientific method!

I will have to look into JTknives JTknives because he looks pretty competitive.
I would really like to use AEB-L more often, i just got 3 12" bars of it. The warping problems are really dissuading me though because I am not confident in my ability to take out warps. Right now I have a "three centers" set up in my vise to bend it the opposite way. Are there any tips you've got for me for AEB-L specifically (I've heard Nitro-V can be difficult this way too)?

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If you are sending the blade out for heat treating they should come back straight, most reputable place will do some processing to straight blades, I send my blade out to Jeff at Tru-Grit and have always been very happy with them, he uses plates during the temper to straighten the blade so as long as you leave a decent flat where the bevels will be they come back super straight. I’ve sent blades as long as 18-20” in length and they come back straight. Prices are very reasonable too and he does test the hardness of the blades.
 
I am not trying to talk down about any other heat treating company but I consider TKS a joke when it comes to heat treating. Only offering one hardness no mater the steel is like a tire company putting the same tire on every car and truck. And lets not talk about the fact that thy don't even hardness test the blades. That's like the same tire company filling every time with air till it feels right when you kick it and not using a pressure gauge.

Our process for heat treating AEBL does not produce a warp. Every once and a while a real tiny bow will surface but its something you cant see unless you put a straight edge on but easily grinds out when grinding your edge bevels. We hardness check EVERY blade at every step of the process so we can track its changes. Minute differences in an alloy can affect hardness a few points and tempers need to be adjusted accordingly. We do our very best at trying to deliver a straight blade back to you. And vary rarely do we ever have to ship a bowed blade. Bus yes we straight blades to the best of our ability and we don't use a torch to spot temper. I can think of one case where a blade was ground real funky and wallowed out on one side and not on the other. It took a bow and I was able to remove most of it but i was uncomfortable in trying to remove the last little bit.

If you have any questions let me know.
 
I once read a post that stated "torch straightening a blade by peters is flat out damaging the blade" and that immediately made me never want to send a blade out for HT ever.
 
Thank you for the insights everyone, I'll keep this all in mind for the next batch of steel I need to send out!
 
Randy3000 said:
I once read a post that stated "torch straightening a blade by peters is flat out damaging the blade" and that immediately made me never want to send a blade out for HT ever.
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I hope I'm not talking out of line here, as I've never used any commercial heat treating service yet, but I know 2 master smiths who, on separate occasions have shown me how to use a torch to straighten a blade, and I'm confident they weren't teaching bad info.

If done properly, it shouldn't "flat out damage a blade".

I believe you are referring to a specific company's technique, but I just wanted to make sure a new maker doesn't misinterpret this post to think that one should never use a torch to straighten a blade.
 
JTknives said:
I am not trying to talk down about any other heat treating company but I consider TKS a joke when it comes to heat treating. Only offering one hardness no mater the steel is like a tire company putting the same tire on every car and truck. And lets not talk about the fact that thy don't even hardness test the blades. That's like the same tire company filling every time with air till it feels right when you kick it and not using a pressure gauge.

Our process for heat treating AEBL does not produce a warp. Every once and a while a real tiny bow will surface but its something you cant see unless you put a straight edge on but easily grinds out when grinding your edge bevels. We hardness check EVERY blade at every step of the process so we can track its changes. Minute differences in an alloy can affect hardness a few points and tempers need to be adjusted accordingly. We do our very best at trying to deliver a straight blade back to you. And vary rarely do we ever have to ship a bowed blade. Bus yes we straight blades to the best of our ability and we don't use a torch to spot temper. I can think of one case where a blade was ground real funky and wallowed out on one side and not on the other. It took a bow and I was able to remove most of it but i was uncomfortable in trying to remove the last little bit.

If you have any questions let me know.
Click to expand...
How does someone get ahold of you about heat treating?
 
Randy3000 said:
I once read a post that stated "torch straightening a blade by peters is flat out damaging the blade" and that immediately made me never want to send a blade out for HT ever.
Click to expand...
How many thousand knives will they HT and straighten with a torch this month?? If it was flat out damaging the blades would people keep using them ? The only thing I have seen it being a problem on is damascus.

If I needed a few blades heat treated JT would be my choice
 
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