I just read old4570’s review on his EL-06 and it comes with 9cr18mov(or is it 9cr13mov?) instead of usual Chinese 8cr13mov blade and he seems to find it much more enduring than 8cr13mov.
So, the question is - is there a way to improve 8cr13mov by means of heating it and then cooling it down to increase its capabilities?
If so, would it be worth while or not worth the hassle since it will not return much additional endurance to the blade?
HillbillysNdaBush - LOL :D!
OK, will check that video, thanks!
there are a lot videos on youtube 
the difference between the two blades is going to be more than just hardness. you are talking about two similar but different steel types/compositions. the 9cr is going to have lightly more chromium and if it is 18mov, you are talking about another difference there. hardness is not necessarily going to improve your blade. one of the benefits of 8cr13mov is that it takes an edge easy as pie. it may loose that edge quicker than some other steels but you also wont spend forever trying to resharpen it.
even on a cheaper Chinese blade i don’t see a lot of benefits to trying to re-heat treat your blade. the heat treat process is going to be different for different steels, and doing it at home isn’t going to be very precise. also, with a finished edge on that blade you may see it warp to the point that it is useless.
that being said, a lot of the fun of a knife in that price range is that you can experiment with it and not loose too much. but i dont think you will improve the blade with any home heat treat process. just my thoughts though, i am hardly an expert. let us know what you do one way or the other.
It depends on the steel. For stainless like 440C, no. You will risk ruining the temper by heating it.
Better to try heat treating a high carbon tool steel like 01.
440 c not so real good but i have one black duck 13 inc with 440 p.r.c its really good for scharpened
yeah, 8cr13mov is a Chinese stainless steel, and as such I cant see much to be gained from attempting to heat it and re temper it and re heat treat it. i dont see there being any gains compared to the heat treat from the factory.
Been there, done that (albeit a long time ago). I would advise you not to try to improve the temper of a decently made commercial blade, as there is a 99% chance to mess it up and make it too hard or too soft. Not worth it except as a learning experience. They are already doing the best that they can within the parameters available. You would most probably try to make it harder to improve sharpness and edge retention (why would you be trying to make it softer?) and the blade will be very brittle and likely to break while you use it or the first time you drop it.
Ok, thanks, I see its not worth it this time ;)!
Thank you, everyone!