Thinking about getting a heat treat oven - Evenheat or Paragon?

Bob Ohlemann

Bob Ohlemann

Joined
Dec 5, 2013
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So I'm specifically looking at the Evenheat KF18 with Rampmaster or the Paragon Double Barrel with Sentry 2.0. The larger oven makes sense for me since I do other machining projects outside of knifemaking. Paragon is fairly local so I may be able to go down and pick up my oven and avoid shipping charges but then I would likely have to pay sales tax so, that may be a wash. I see a lot of old broken down Paragon kilns on Craigslist and I don't know if that would be indicative of the quality I would see in the Double Barrel. Is one oven superior to the other? Any user comments would be much appreciated.

Bob
 
I just bough an evenheat, as it was available from a local supplier. Its a quality unit from what I van tell. I've only done about 10 blades so far, but the temp is accurate according to my pyrometer, and the blades come out at exactly the Rc# I am shooting for. Can't comment on long term durability. From what I have read, the paragon might be a bit better, but the evenheat is still a quality unit. An oven is pretty simple. The PID controls are what is important. Make sure the controls do what you want them to, and that the oven will reach the temps you need if you do stainless.
 
Look at the Evenheat KO18. It has a higher temperature range (approx 2,400°) and will heat treat every blade steel I know of. You may not be interested in the higher temperature range, but it also gets up to 2,000° really fast.

Chuck
 
I'll say this. I own a Paragon and it seems better built than the Evenheats I've seen. It has a highest temp of 2350. However I had to replace the thermocouple after less than a year. No warranty coverage, no explanation as to if that is normal wear from them. All I got was it depends on how you are using it. Even after I told them exactly how I use it they still said it depends, like talking in a circle.

How long do other people's thermocouples last?

I temper carbon steel in mine too, maybe running the low temps for a couple of hours burns it out quicker? Paragon couldn't confirm or deny that question.

And kudos on wanting to do your own heat treat.
 
I bought the KO 22.5 220v. I had to download the manual to set the controls as they aren't intuitive, but the controls work well and appear accurate.

Shaw, I got a year out of a thermocouple in a propane forge without a sheath at heat treating temps. (EDIT: I am a hobbyist, so maybe 50-60 knives?)The last month, it seemed all over the place in terms of temp reading, but prior to that it was pretty good. I would have expected more in a kiln, but I'm no expert.
 
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I just ordered the KF22.5 with the rampmaster. I spent a long time weighing the differences.The Paragon was going to run about $300 more, and I didn't see $300 worth of value for my purpose. If money were no object I would have the Paragon, but I think I'll be happy with the evenheat. I found a good deal on the evenheat. Send me a PM for the link.
 
carbonsteel928 said:
I sure love my Paragon but as Mr. Hanson said, there isn't anything wrong with an E H.
Click to expand...

I called Paragon after we talked at the show but, the only thing they had in scratch n' dent was a big industrial unit with all the bells and whistles (i.e. gas injection regulator) for $2200. I think I am leaning toward the Evenheat. I'll have to go back and look at the KO series. I'm just doing 440c and 1084 right now but you never know what the future may bring.
 
Bob, I'll be driving by Paragon this week; I'll stop by and see what they have. Often they give you an answer without really checking, it really depends on who answers your call. When I got mine they said they didn't have anything, so a visit in person proved otherwise.
 
carbonsteel928 said:
Bob, I'll be driving by Paragon this week; I'll stop by and see what they have. Often they give you an answer without really checking, it really depends on who answers your call. When I got mine they said they didn't have anything, so a visit in person proved otherwise.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks Mike! It's a little bit of a haul for me to go down there to look around but, if you find something good, I'll be there.

Bob
 
I have an Evenheat KF22.5" and I also have a Paragon KM18D. I use the Paragon oven when doing one or two smaller blades and use the Evenheat for batches and bigger blades.

The Paragon is built much more solidly, but biggest difference is the outside of the Evenheat gets much hotter than the Paragon. Unsafely hot, in my opinion, but it works well, otherwise. Both do HT perfectly fine.

I got the Paragon from Ron Frazier's shop after his passing.

I got the Evenheat in a very happy way. Another maker ordered one and when it came, the box had been damaged. The door had been bent crooked by about 1" and the wooden knob was knocked off. The controller unit was pulled loose from the oven body ( four small sheet metal screws). While very severe looking, this was pretty minor damage, actually. All this damage was because the Evenheat ovens have a rather thin wrapped stainless steel shell.
He called the company and they said a replacement would go out that same day. He was to put the damaged unit in the garage, don't pack it up, and have it ready for the delivery driver. The driver came in a few days with the new unit and asked to see the damaged one. He looked at the damage and said, OK, and gave him the new unit. He went to the truck and got an ax and came back to the damaged unit. He explained that the company instructed him to destroy the unit and put it in the trash. He looked at the fellow, grinned, and gave it a light tap on the top to make a tiny dent. "That should do it", he said, got into his truck and left. I screwed the controller back on with four larger screws ( the old ones were too small IMHO, anyway), straightened the door hinges, and screwed the door knob back on. We split the cost of a new unit and each had a half priced oven.

I have considered that the heat from the stainless steel shell is caused by some sort of cracking in the refractory lining, but have never found anyplace that looks damaged.
How hot do the outside of any of you guys Evenheat KF22.5's get? I can't touch the top of mine when doing HT or I would get a bad burn.
 
I have the KO22.5 with the Rampmaster. I have been very pleased with it so far ( 6-8 months) .
Stacy,I have not not noticed a unusual exterior heat but I have not ever touched it with bare hands while it was on. I have held my hand about 2-3" from it while it was at 2100 and did not feel it was too hot.Then again, I have nothing to compare it to except for my home oven. Great score on your Evenheat......Lucky!
 
I think mine leaks heat from somewhere in the refractory shell. I can not imagine the Mfg. selling a product that gets so hot. Maybe when I re-do the cart I'll wrap it in k-wool and give it a second shell.
 
I can pretty much lay my hand on my 18" evenheat, even after an hour of ramping
to temp. The oven is 20 years old, replaced my 1st thermocouple 2 years ago.
Ken.
 
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