Heat Treating

Heat treatment and tempering are the heart and soul of knifemaking. Steel can exist in a few different crystalline states. If you look at a piece of steel under a microscope, you will see that it isn't the “pure”, homogenous mixture you think it is; it’s actually made up of tiny crystals. The physical properties of these crystals are what give steel its unique abilities. Heat treatment changes the structure of these crystals, and thus dramatically alters the properties of the steel. Heat treating steel can impart high hardness to it, and tempering can impart durability. Balancing the heat treatment and tempering of the steel properly is critical to producing a knife that has the right combination of toughness and edge retention. Cryogenic (“cryo”) treating certain steels allows a more complete transformation to martensite. Many simple steels do not see any benefit from cryo treatment, but the more modern high-alloy steels we use definitely benefit. Heat treating, tempering, and cryo treatment of today’s new breed of “super steels” requires specialized equipment and technical expertise that a lot of knifemakers don’t have. At Ardent Knives, we put more attention on the heat treating and tempering process than any other component of the knifemaking process. We are rewarded for this effort by the extremely high performance of our blades and our ability to work with the most modern “super steels”.