fixining up a stainless blade

[Scott Roush]

I have this stainless steel Dexter fish cleaning knife that has been used well.  Now that I'm dabbling with knife making, I thought I could practice by playing with it. I would like to reshape the blade and put a wooden handle on it.. and make into more of a hunting knife.

Should I anneal it before I work with it? What happens to stainless after it's been annealed and then rehardened?

 

[Scott Roush]

So, in other words.... how do you 'fixinin' up my knife? Fixininin?

[skullworks]

If you keep the blade cool as you work it you probably won't have a problem with needing to reharden and temper it.

[Scott Roush]

but will I need to anneal it to work it into a different shape?  I only have files and dremel tool.

[Lin Rhea]

Stainless probably requires a more controlled heat treat, so I would try to work it without annealing. Just do it slow as in not grinding and getting it too hot. Try files first.
                                       Lin

[Scott Roush]

so what if I don't care to maintain the stainless properties?  What happens to the stainlessness(?) when you anneal?  I would like to do some patina finishing on it with vinegar, etc and I don't think I can do it when it's stainless right????

[kbaknife]

Its "stainlessness" has nothing to do with its heat treating procedures. It's stainless because of the extremely high chromium content.
Which is also responsible for the need to soak it in a specifically controlled oven at around 1900 degrees for a half hour in an oxygen-proof environment.
Just keep that knife the way it is and get a piece of steel and make a new knife!
Then you'll have two knives.

[Scott Roush]

I have some files coming to work on... but I thought it would be a good learning process to play with that blade.  I have a nearby fish processing facility that has tons of those knives and they get rid of em. So its no loss.