Paragon KM14D Knife Treating Kiln

When your Paragon KM-14D furnace arrives, you will begin to live the knife making adventure more fully. Now you can join that elite corps of knife makers who witness the birth of the knife. In the bright red heat of the furnace, the soul of the knife is born.

Many furnace owners revel in testing. They put blades through tests more severe than any knife owner would dare. They test for Rockwell hardness, but they don’t stop there. They count the number of cuts a knife makes on hemp rope. They measure the foot-pounds of torque required to bend the blade to 45° or even 90°. Then they straighten the blade, slap on a handle and test it in the real world.

The knife maker with a KM-series furnace can try exotic heat treating methods at his leisure. Does quenching in dry ice improve blade performance? What happens when 52100 steel is triple-quenched with a one-day wait between each quench? After this treatment, will a 52100 blade bend to 90° without chipping? What if you freeze the steel between quenches?

With a Paragon furnace in your shop, all questions about heat treating formulas are settled. You find out for yourself what works and what doesn’t. Testing and heat treating is at the heart of the knife making adventure. Here is where your confidence as a knife maker takes root.

120V, 10 amp, 1200 watts 15 amp breaker

2000 degrees F Fire

Firing dimensions 5.5"W x 14.5"D x 4.25"H (.19 cu ft)

NEMA 5-15R receptacle (standard 3 prong 120v wall plug)

Shipping weight 110 lbs. Ships by truck.

Outside dimensions 23.00W x 21.00D x 14.50H Inches

Test Exotic Heat Treating Formulas

The buyer of a custom knife appreciates fine detail. He or she marvels at the lines and curves the maker coaxed from the steel with such patience. There is a bond of trust between the owner of a fine knife and its maker. This is why the knife maker sleeps better when he controls every step in creating a knife.

“Thermal cycles, commonly known as heat treating of blades, are the most significant single aspect contributing to the quality of a knifemaker’s blade. Knifemakers who wish to explore the absolute frontiers of the world of knives in search of the Excalibur of their dreams must have the ability to design thermal treatments specifically intended to push their steel to the highest limits of performance. Absolute control of the temperature of their blades is absolutely essential to success.

A Paragon KM-series furnace sets the knife maker free. No more wrapping blades and shipping them to your heat treater. No more waiting until you have a dozen blades to get the best price on heat treating. No more turning away orders for last-minute gifts.

While your furnace is hardening and tempering blades, you can busy yourself grinding more knives or fitting handles. After you’ve used your Paragon furnace awhile, you will wonder how you ever got along without it. When asked to make a knife on short notice—whether for a Marine Corps awards presentation, a soldier’s pre-deployment party, or an archaeologist on his way to Africa—you will be ready. When a custom knife is needed as a going away gift, and the recipient is leaving in three days, you will be ready. Your KM-series furnace might even pay for itself on rush orders you would otherwise have missed.

The KM-14D, KM-24D and KM-36D & KM-45D

The KM-series furnace comes in four interior sizes:

KM-14D: 14 ½” long, 5 ½” wide, and 4 ¼” high
KM-24D: 24” long, 5 ½” wide, and 4 ¼” high
KM-36D: 36” long, 5 ½” wide, and 4 ¼” high
KM-45D: 45” long, 5 ½” wide, and 4 ¼” high

Even if most of your knives would fit inside the KM-14D, you may ultimately be happier with the KM-24D, the most popular size. Too much capacity may be better than too little. After all, it doesn’t hurt to heat shorter blades in the longer KM-24D; electrical consumption is minimal. The KM-24D is priced only slightly higher than the KM-14D. Just knowing you could make a larger blade when you wanted may be worth the extra cost of the KM-24D.

Solid construction

The door swings open with one-handed operation. A counter-weight handle holds the door securely closed. The furnace is insulated with refractory firebrick. The elements are mounted in dropped, recessed grooves machined into the firebrick. Paragon invented this type of groove in 1952. This groove protects the element for long life and low maintenance. Elements are simple to replace because they’re exposed rather than embedded. You can thread new elements into place following clear instructions in the manual.

The firing chamber is protected by a steel case painted in high temperature blue. A built-in stand lifts the firing chamber safely off your worktable, so no extra stand is needed. The door is mounted with a heavy-duty hinge for smooth opening. A micro-switch shuts off the power to the elements when the door is opened. We use high temperature wire in the switch box for long life. A heat shield, mounted between the switch box and furnace, helps keep the switch box components cool even during extended operation. To further dissipate heat, the switch box is extra large and generously louvered. Each furnace comes with a cord and plug for immediate installation, and a one year warranty.

Complete instructions

Your furnace includes a wiring diagram, programming instructions, and heat treating manual. The manual gives you basic heat treating instructions for D2, 440C, ATS 34 and 154 CM. The manual is written in plain English for the beginner.

Optional gas meter

Optional Gas Injection Flow Meter

During heat treating, scale forms on the surface of the steel. One way to eliminate most scaling is to wrap the steel in stainless steel foil. Another way is to install the gas injection flow meter on your furnace. It is available as either an add-on kit, or you can order the furnace with the meter installed.

The meter regulates the flow of an inert gas, such as argon, inside the furnace. The gas displaces the oxygen to prevent most scaling.