Has anyone had positive results in trying to engrave heat treated bolsters? I read in a previous thread about inlaying steel much like gold or a freeze out plug for an engine. Would that work here? I need some help here so get out the big guns!
I've never been able to cut case hardened stuff. It just blunts the gravers straight away so you can't even get through to the soft metal beneath. On the couple of occssions I managed to get through the engraving was awful. What's even worse is when you manage to start and then can't carry on because it smashes the graver tip every time! I've tried all sorts of gravers and even carbide won't touch it. If anyone's got any 'truly successful' tips please let us know. The only real way is to soften the action first and re harden afterwards but be careful as actions can warp and you need someone who knows what they're doing to re set it.
You need to find out what the alloy is and how hard it is.
416 will only harden to the mid 40s on the rockwell scale and is fine to cut. I actually prefer heat treated 416 over annealed 416 becaseu it cuts cleaner and crisper.
However. If we are talking about damascus with 1095 or O1 that is heat treated to the mid-high 50s on the RC scale you will go nuts and put our tongue in your paper shreader before you get it cut.
i've never had benefit of a class, except the school of hard knocks. engrave before heat treatment, period! never a reason to do it after, ever- except to cause yourself uneeded grief, headache, lost profit, and maybe lost clients ! those are the only reasons to engrave after heat treating.
I heat treat my 416 bolsters, like Ray said, it cuts cleaner, you get a better belt finish and polish on it too. But I don't heat treat my damascus bolsters and havn't had any issues with them. You will get a different affect on the bolsters when etching with the acid than you do the heat treated blades but I like the contrast. My two cents, Dwayne