Truing barstock

jaat

Member
Hi all I'm new to the forum and have been grinding and making knives for only a very short time so here's one of my nagging first questions as a beginner. How do straighten your stock before grinding? What methods or tricks do you use to true it, is there any? I usually order from flatground and the first few times everything was spot on super straight but, Now I say a prayer everyday before the shipment arrives. I'm not having too much luck with the tap tap here and there method I've seen others refer to on the net. It's honestly driving me nuts. Thanks in advance.
 
I'd like to see what the pro's say But....
I figure a press to get it straight to the eye then a surface grinder.
 
I f I were having problems with barstock being crooked , And a hammer wont straighten it ! probably because its too hard . I would heat it up real good and cool in vermiculite . when it cools it should be soft enough to straighten with 2-3lb. brass hammer .
 
Seriously, it depends on how far out it is. Sometimes I can put it on the disk grinder and fix it in a pass or two but then again there are times I have to fire up the forge and heat it up to get it strait, W2 and 1090 are that way. I just cant straiten them cold at all.
 
Thanks for the replies. I was thinking of building a small press and using heat. However first I believe I'll just try the heat and hammer approach. I'm using O1 from flatground in thicknesses ranging from 1/8" to 5/32. Mostly it's the 5/32" that's been giving me fits. I have an 18" evenheat that I use for heat treating. What would be a good minimum temp to heat it to to work it warm with a hammer assuming it's annealed without getting carried away. 700-800 degrees? Again thanks for the replies fellas!
 
You shouldn't need a hammer or heat to straighten O1 from flatground, it is sphereoidized annealed tool steel, not an old leaf spring... You can usually straighten it with your hands by bridging it across two point and pressing down on the peak. Any nasty kinked steel should be returned, but gradual bends are normal and should be corrected without inducing a lot of extra stress that might cause it to warp in HT.
 
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