Heat vs Heat-Treatment

Etherealicer · **on:** December 27, 2016, 02:48:57 PM

Ok, I'm looking at options to fill the unnecessary holes in the Skeletool blade. Among other ideas I was thinking about Fimo (easy to use and could add a nice spot of color) and that made me think.

How much heat can a blade take until heat treatment is affected. To be precise, Fimo is baked at 110°C (230°F) for 30 minutes and it is a 154CM blade.

Steinar · **Reply #1 on:** December 27, 2016, 03:10:52 PM

In general, a blade can take up to about the temperature it was tempered at. Looking at the data sheet for 154CM, I see at can be tempered down to 204 °C, so 110 °C should be just fine. In general, a couple of hundred degrees is OK for most steels.

Tomcat_81 · **Reply #2 on:** December 27, 2016, 08:29:08 PM

Even though 110°C should be fine- I dislike Fimo. It's plastic ;-)

Have you ever thought of filing a piece of metal into the exact form of the hole,
giving the hole in the blade an extra dremel treatment to create a small notch on the inside and then hammer in the meatl inlay gently?

Hard to describe, but a similar process to how bimetal-coins are made...

Another option which doesn't involve a lot of heat is epoxy, readily available in nice colors and even glow-in-the-dark...

Tomcat

Etherealicer · **Reply #3 on:** December 27, 2016, 10:28:14 PM

Quote from: Tomcat_81 on December 27, 2016, 08:29:08 PM

Even though 110°C should be fine- I dislike Fimo. It's plastic ;-)

Have you ever thought of filing a piece of metal into the exact form of the hole,
giving the hole in the blade an extra dremel treatment to create a small notch on the inside and then hammer in the meatl inlay gently?

Hard to describe, but a similar process to how bimetal-coins are made...

Another option which doesn't involve a lot of heat is epoxy, readily available in nice colors and even glow-in-the-dark...

Tomcat

Yeah, I gave the metal inlay a though. But considering the different radii and my very limited metal working skills, that seems like a difficult task.
Epoxy is also a good idea but well, is also a polymer (and quickly looking at their chemistry, at least some of them are quite toxic). But alas, I will have to look into that in more detail.

Tomcat_81 · **Reply #4 on:** December 28, 2016, 11:26:27 AM

... it's only the two small holes in front of the actual opening hole?
If you want me to try my luck on the metal inlays, you'll just have to send it over.
Aluminium would be the easiest option, but brass and steel are also possible.
I can't guarantee perfection, but I'm quite good at MacGyvering!
Tomcat

Sparky415 · **Reply #5 on:** December 28, 2016, 12:05:02 PM

Quote from: Tomcat_81 on December 27, 2016, 08:29:08 PM

Another option which doesn't involve a lot of heat is epoxy, readily available in nice colors and even glow-in-the-dark...

Tomcat

This is fairly easy to do, might be worth giving it a try first

Poncho65 · **Reply #6 on:** December 29, 2016, 04:52:13 AM

Well I can't wait to see what you end up doing Eth

Etherealicer · **Reply #7 on:** December 29, 2016, 03:11:09 PM

You guys know how much I love the Skeletool, so I got another one incoming

That will be the first victim, as the blades I have is the PE one and the DMAX branded one.

Syph007 · **Reply #8 on:** December 29, 2016, 07:46:09 PM

200C is about as hot as I'd go. That was the magic temp for doing low temp dlc on heat treated blades without harming heat treat.

If I wanted to full those blade holes I would peen brass into it thensand it smooth and polish. Put brass on top of blade then tap it gently to get hole shape on sheet. Cut out and peen away.

Gerhard Gerber · **Reply #9 on:** January 03, 2017, 10:32:09 AM

Why didn't I think of that.....

I just had a look and realised the rear-most hole catches the detent when closed.........

My immediate thought was copper.....3 inserts of increasing size leaving the thumb hole open.

Doesn't epoxy loose most of its toxicity once set?

Etherealicer · **Reply #10 on:** January 03, 2017, 01:32:29 PM

Quote from: Gerhard Gerber on January 03, 2017, 10:32:09 AM

Doesn't epoxy loose most of its toxicity once set?

It looses the reactive group used for polymerization, certainly the most aggressive part. How toxic the final resin is, is probably depending on the epoxy (I would have to check what kind of polymer the epoxy results in).

It is, however only small amounts and should be relatively inert. So, the more I think about it the less I worry.

Tomcat_81 · **Reply #11 on:** January 03, 2017, 02:41:25 PM

(Easy to work with, quite safe to handle, definitely not the most harmful substance around and terribly durable: nail polish. Just put some sticky tape over the back of the holes and fill them -layer by layer- with nail polish.)
And please snap a pic when you're buying the nail polish!