Need to sharpen some blades.

[2treks]

I have some custom made draw knife blades that are in the "Blank" form. I would like to see about getting them sharpened but I have no idea as to the stage they are at. How can I tell how hard they are and if they need to be heat treated still? If you need more info to go by let me know. Thanks.
Chuck

[elk ninja]

take a file to the edge (yikes!) and if it "skips" across, it's ready to be final sharpened.  If it bites into it, it still needs to be hardened and tempered...

[2treks]

I will give that a try. Thanks

[Jeremy]

That's not quite the case.

You can easily sharpen a properly tempered draw knife with a file.  The file shouldn't really dig into the steel, but it in no way should skip across it.  That would indicate the draw knife would be in the mid 60's on the Rockwell scale, when nearly every one I have had in the shop has been in the mid to low 50's - ie softer than the typical hunting knife.  

I do have one newer knife that's in the high 50's, but I still did the initial re-profiling with a file.

[hvyhitter]

I agree with Jeremy. Skined hundreds of posts in high school for cash. Used a file to smooth out the nicks from finding a nail or fence staple under the bark and finnish up the edge with a stone. Used several old draw knives and some were harder than others.

[2treks]

Well I took a file to one of the blades and it seems a bit soft to me. I can get a decent bite not a hard grab but a decent bite. I will try one of my draw knifes to compare. Then I will look into putting some grips on one and see how it goes. I may need to make a trip north for some help from a (semi-) pro.Thank you guys
Chuck

[2treks]

Today I took the same file to my old Red Diamond draw knife and it seemed to be a bit harder but I could still get it to bite in. So maybe I will just sharpen the blades by hand with my file. They are "blanks" and I need to get them handled also. What are some other ways I could sharpen them? Belt sander?

[KHALVERSON]

chuck
a belt sander might work
is the bottom flat already
a right angle grinder would probably work better
be carefull not to overheat the blade when grinding (dont let it turn color) it may get softer
if you would like send me some pics
i may have a few other ideas
kevin

[2treks]

Kevin, The back is flat and the bevel is ground. This is done in the making of the blade and then the blank is heat treated. This is my guess as the blanks have a light patina/scale on them. They look like they have been heated to me. I will get some pics or send you one with the other stuff to check out.
Chuck

[2treks]

INBOUND Kevin.

[KHALVERSON]

cool!