Page 249 - The Lost Ways

The blade is heated in the forge until it reaches a temperature where a magnet will no
longer stick to it. Experienced knife makers can tell when it reaches this temperature
visually, but the magnet is a good check for the temperature of the blade.

It is not uncommon to have the blade sitting in the fire in such a way that the cutting edge
of the blade is in the coals, where it is getting the maximum heat, while the back of the

blade and the tang are not in the coals. This allows these parts of the blade to remain
softer so that the knife isn’t brittle.

Once properly heated, the knife blade will be glowing bright red, although the back and
tang will not be. The blade is put into the oil bath slowly and evenly, edge first. The whole
blade must enter the oil bath, but the most important part is the blade edge. The oil
typically catches fire, so it is necessary to have a means of putting out that fire.

When the blade is removed from the fire, it will have a scale all over it. This is easily

cleaned up with a file. It is also brittle, so it needs to be tempered to make it less brittle.
This requires a second heating but to a much lower temperature.

248