Vacuum Quenching
The quality of heat treatment directly determines a knife's intrinsic performance. Because martensitic stainless steel must be heat-treated to exploit the material's properties fully, heat treatment has always been the core knife-making process.
What is Vacuum Quenching?
Vacuum quenching is a sophisticated heat treatment technique that involves heating knife steel to 1050° at only ±5C in a vacuum environment and cooling it quickly. This high-end and very costly technology greatly enhances knife performance and longevity.
What is the heating and cooling process?
The knife steel is subjected to high heat within a vacuum furnace. The temperature is controlled to shape the metal's structure. It is then rapidly cooled using gas, water, or oil to finalize the structure, followed by tempering to find the right balance between hardness and toughness. This method improves the hardness and surface quality, increases durability, and reduces distortion, enabling the attainment of sharpness that meets the expectations of even professional
Annealing to maximize strength and durability
After the quenching process, metal tends to become brittle, increasing the risk of breakage. Annealing balances the properties of metal alloys to maximize strength and durability for various applications. It removes residual stresses in the metal, improves machinability, and makes the metal more formable.
