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Old 01-31-2011, 01:40 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Decatur, IL
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You're in luck, IF that knife can be hardened you're not going to have to temper at anything like 450 degrees. As with all mystery metal, which RR spike kind'a-sort'a qualify as, you are going to have to search for the right combination, I'd start out with warm oil and probably start experimenting with the temper at 350 degrees then test the blade for hardness. If it's too soft you will have no choice but to reharden and retemper at a lower setting. If the edge wants to chip out, the you can grind out the chip and temper at a little higher setting, like 25 degree incriments, until the edge stops chipping. If the edge seems real soft, like it just basically folds over after tempering, you could try it as quenched. You might even consider a water or brine quench.

Just be aware that at around 35 points of carbon, assuming that we are dealing with "high" carbon spikes, you will be right at the limit of getting a blade that will hold any kind of an edge. Also fighting you is that the alloy for RR spikes usually has copper in it to increase toughness. RR spikes have to almost bend 180 degrees to pass quality control testing. Whatever increases toughness will almost certainly decrease hardness and wear resistance.

Some people really like RR spike knives and can move them at a lower price. I wish you well on your experiment. Post pictures why don't you?

Doug Lester


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