KM-SeriesFurnaces forKnife MakersThe spirit of agreat knife

Great knives helped carve out thewilderness, fight wars, save lives. Ex-plorers have carried them to distantlands. Knives have earned their place inhistory.

Great knives are more than steel andornament. They contain a spirit thatmakes them feel as an extension of theuser’s hand. Touch a great knife, and itfeels alive. As the knife ages, its spiritremains as vibrant as the day the makergave the knife to the world. The spirit intheir knives lives on long after the mas-ter craftsmen who made them.

Wherever humans have withstoodsevere tests—whether in the steamingjungles of the South Pacific, the burn-ing desert of Africa, or the cold, blow-ing wastelands of Korea—they havedepended upon great knives. Whereverexplorers have gone, they have takengreat knives with them—over the prai-ries and mountains of the American

west, across the desolate plains of theNorth Pole, through the silence of deepspace.

Upon their return home, these ex-plorers and soldiers and medics and as-tronauts have numbered among theirmost priceless possessions their knives.When the owner touches his knife,memories awaken. Once again he hearsthe stories around the campfire; hesmells the pine needles in the wilder-ness. He remembers the lean-tos hefashioned; the kindling he made for afire in a blowing snow-storm. His heartquickens its pace a few beats as he seesscenes he shared with the knife.

Some of these knives find theirplaces on mantles and in display cases.Others are passed on to sons anddaughters to continue their faithful ser-vice.

Not all great knives face extremetests. Some are carried into combat andrarely used. Others see no more actionthan a camping trip. Yet each bears theimprint of its maker. Each contains aspirit that makes it feel alive to thetouch. Each extends a secure feelingthat comes from wearing a knife youcan depend on. The maker, immersedin the dust and sweat of his work, sendsa part of himself with each knife that

leaves his shop. He lives on in hisknives.

Knife making is an adventure all itsown. It begins when the future ownershares the dream of a special knife withthe maker. They talk excitedly over thefirst rough sketches. Then the maker re-tires to his shop and loses himself inthe creation of the knife. Time disap-pears; the hours tick by as he grinds,heat treats, polishes.

Test exotic heattreating formulas

When your Paragon KM- or HT-se-ries furnace arrives, you will begin tolive the adventure more fully. Now youcan join that elite corps of knife makerswho witness the birth of the knife. Inthe bright red heat of the furnace, thesoul of the knife is born.

Many furnace owners revel in test-ing. They put blades through tests moresevere than any knife owner woulddare. They test for Rockwell hardness,but they don’t stop there. They countthe number of cuts a knife makes onhemp rope. They measure the footpounds of torque required to bend theblade to 45° or even 90°. Then theystraighten the blade, slap on a handleand test it in the real world.

The knife maker with a Paragon fur-nace can try exotic heat treating meth-ods at his leisure. Does quenching indry ice improve blade performance?What happens when 52100 steel is tri-ple-quenched with a one-day wait be-tween each quench? After thistreatment, will a 52100 blade bend to90° without chipping? What if youfreeze the steel between quenches?

With a Paragon furnace in yourshop, all questions about heat treatingformulas are settled. You find out foryourself what works and what doesn’t.Testing and heat treating is at the heartof the knife making adventure. Here iswhere your confidence as a knife makertakes root.

A bond of trustThe knife maker’s credo is simple: to

create a knife that represents the knifemaker himself. Quality of work is notjust a fad for him. It is a passion. Any-

Paragon Furnaces for theKnifemaker and Heat

TreaterShown is theKM-24D. TheKM-14D, KM-36D,and KM-45D fur-naces look thesame from the front.The chief differencebetween these mod-els is length.

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thing less thanone’s best is un-thinkable.

The buyer of a custom knife appreci-ates fine detail. He or she marvels atthe lines and curves the maker coaxedfrom the steel with such patience.There is a bond of trust between theowner of a fine knife and its maker.This is why the knife maker sleepsbetter when he controls every step increating a knife.

The knife maker derives joy fromworking with his hands. He makesknives that are not merely prized, buttreasured. When the knife owner wipesa rag across such a knife, he is caress-ing it as much as cleaning it. Part ofthis spirit of knife making is lost whenyou send the blade out for heat treatingand await its return.

Every time you, the maker, releaseone of your knives to the world, yourreputation goes with it. This is whymakers feel compelled to control everystep in the blade’s journey from initialdesign through final polishing.

No more waitingA Paragon furnace sets the knife

maker free. No more wrapping bladesand shipping them to your heat treater.No more waiting until you have adozen blades to get the best price onheat treating. No more turning awayorders for last-minute gifts.

While your furnace is hardening andtempering blades, you can busy your-self grinding more knives or fitting han-dles. After you’ve used your Paragon

furnace awhile, you will wonder howyou ever got along without it.

When asked to make a knife onshort notice—whether for a MarineCorps awards presentation or an ar-chaeologist on his way to Africa—youwill be ready. When a custom knife isneeded as a going away gift, and the re-cipient is leaving in three days, you willbe ready. Your furnace might even payfor itself on rush or-ders you would oth-erwise have missed.

Own a furnaceand you alone decidewhen you will com-plete a knife. If youstay up one Fridaygrinding a knife, youcan heat treat it thatevening and deliver itSaturday morn-ing—just in time fora grateful wife topresent to her hus-band on his birth-day.

Finishing a knifewhenever you wantwill excite you. You

will find yourself workinginto the night to completea new design. When yousend the blade out forheat treating, the excite-ment of making it is for-gotten. By the time theblade returns, you hardlyremember it.

Ed Fowler andhis ParagonKM-14D

Ed Fowler has beenmaking knives off and onsince the sixth grade. Edbelieves heat treating is acrucial step in makingknives. The soul of theknife is born in the fur-

Specifications of Paragon FurnacesKiln Max. Firing Chamber Cubic App. Outside Dimensions Circuit NEMA

Model Temp. F. Opening Depth Feet Shp. Wt. W. x D. x H. Volts AmpsWatts Fuse Config.2000 8 ½” W x 4 ½”H x 9”D .2 57 25”W x 14”D x 13 ½”H 120 15 1800 20 5-15R2000 5 ½”W x 4 ¼”H x 14 ½”D .19 100 23”W x 21”D x 14 ½”H 120 10 1200 15 5-15R2000 5 ½”W x 4 ¼”H x 24”D .32 139 23”W x 30 ½”D x 14 ½”H 240 7.5 1800 20 6-20R2000 5 ½”W x 4 ¼”H x 36”D .48 190 23”W x 43”D x 14 ½”H 240 11 2700 20 6-20R2000 5 ½”W x 4 ¼’H x 45”D .60 240 23”W x 50”D x 14 ½”H 240 19 4560 20 6-20R2000 8 ½”W x 8 ¾”H x 9”D .38 99 26 ½”W x 14 ½”D x 18”H 120 14 1692 20 5-15R2000 13”W x 8 ¾”H x 13 ½”D .88 140 31”W x 18 ¼”D x 18 ½”H 240 13 3120 20 6-20R2000 21”W x 13 ¼”H x 21”D 3.4 290 37 ½” x 30”D x 23”H 240 30 7200 50 6-50R

Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Ed Fowler with his Paragon KM-14D.

“I recommend Paragon furnaces be-cause they make an excellent product.”–Ed Fowler

PKM-9D8 ½” wide, 4 ½” high,

9” deep firing chamber

KM-24D5 ½” wide, 4 ¼” high,

24” deep firing chamber

KM-14D5 ½” wide, 4 ¼” high,

14 ½” deep firing chamber

HT-10D8 ½” wide, 8 ¾” high,

9” deep firing chamber

KM-36D5 ½” wide, 4 ¼” high,

36” deep firing chamber

KM-45D5 ½” wide, 4 ¼” high,

45” deep firing chamber

nace. To entrust heat treating to some-one else would be unthinkable to EdFowler.

Knife making is an adventure.“Knives are my life,” says Ed. Owning aParagon furnace adds magic to the ad-venture, because the knives come aliveinside the furnace.

With a Paragon furnace, the knifemaker can deepen his knowledge ofworking knives. Experimenting withheat treating teaches the knife makermore about the steels he cherishes thanany book or teacher could. With hisown furnace, he can alter the heat treat-ing formula to exactly fit his ownknives, just like Ed Fowler does.

“I couldn’t achieve the control I nowenjoy had I not had a Paragon fur-nace,” Ed Fowler says. “Owning a Par-agon is extremely beneficial to bladesmithing.” Ed found his furnace helpfulin discovering some of the ideas in hisinformative books, Ed Fowler’s KnifeTalk: The Art and Science ofKnifemaking and Ed Fowler’s Knife TalkII: The High Performance Blade.

“Paragon offered me no financial re-wards or free equipment for this en-dorsement,” Ed said. “I recommendParagon furnaces because they makean excellent, reliable product.”

The KM-14D, KM-24Dand KM-36D

The KM-series furnace comes infour sizes: the 120 volt KM-14D, 14 ½”deep, 5 ½” wide, and 4 ¼” high inside;the 240 volt KM-24D, 24” deep, 5 ½”wide, and 4 ¼” high; the KM-36D, 36”deep, 5 ½” wide, and 4 ¼” high; andthe KM-45D: 45” deep, 5 ½” wide, and4 ¼” high.

Even if most of your knives would fitinside the KM-14D, you may ultimatelybe happier with the KM-24D. Toomuch capacity may be better than toolittle. After all, it doesn’t hurt to heat

shorter blades in the longer KM-24D;electrical consumption is minimal. TheKM-24D is priced only slightly higherthan the KM-14D. Just knowing youcould make a larger blade when youwanted may be worth the extra cost ofthe KM-24D.

PKM- andHT-seriesHeat TreatingFurnaces

The KM-series furnaces are longand narrow, ideal for knives. ThePKM- and HT-series are sized for gen-eral heat treating. (We also design cus-tom furnaces.)

Machine shops save time with a fur-nace at their disposal in their ownshop. You will no longer send a die outfor heat treating, wait for its return andthen send it out again for additionalheat treating.

The PKM-9D, our smallest stan-dard-order furnace, measures 8 ½”wide, 4 ½” high and 9” deep inside.The PKM-9D is small, but powerful. Itwill reach 1850° F. within 45 minutes.The HT-10D and PKM-9D fire on a120 volt, 20 amp circuit. The PKM-9Dcan be shipped by UPS.

The HT-10D interior measures 8 ½”wide, 8 ¾” high, and 9” deep, a goodsize for most small parts. The HT-14Dis made for large objects and highervolume users. The firing chamber is agenerous 13” wide, 8 ¾” high and 13½” deep. The HT-14D operates on a240 volt, 20 amp. Circuit.

The HT-22D offers capacity that ishard to believe for the price. Costingonly slightly more than our smaller fur-naces, the HT-22D measures a massive21” wide, 13 ¼” high and 21” deep in-side.

FeaturesElectronic temperaturecontroller

Paragon KM-, PKM-, and HT-se-ries furnaces are equipped with theSentry 12-key electronic temperaturecontroller. It is simple to master and apleasure to use. Display messagesguide you through each step in enteringheat treating parameters. The Sentryoperates in “segments.” A segment willheat to a given temperature, at a givenrate, and will hold that temperature for

as long as you want. You can enter asmany as 18 segments. The Sentry cancontrol both heating and cooling. Youwill marvel at its accuracy and repeat-ability.

The Sentry stores up to four pro-grams in memory even if the furnace is

HT-14D13” wide, 8 ¾” high,

13 ½” deep firing chamberHT-22D

21” wide, 13 ¼” high,21” deep firing chamber

unplugged. Store a different programfor each type of steel you heat treat.

The Sentry alarm sounds when aprogrammed temperature is reached. Alarge, bright display shows temperaturethroughout heating and cooling. Usethe delay feature to turn the furnace onafter a specified period.

Paragon furnaces measure tempera-ture with a new, advanced Type-K ther-mocouple. A protective metal sheathgives it longer life and greater accuracy.

Solid constructionThe door on each furnace swings

open with one-handed operation. Acounter-weight handle holds the doorsecurely closed. The door of modelsPKM-9D, HT-10D, and HT-14D has avent hole, so you can see in-side the furnace during firing.A metal cover seals the venthole when not in use. (Alwayswear Paragon firing safetyglasses when looking into ahot furnace.) These Paragonfurnaces are insulated with re-fractory firebrick. The ele-ments are mounted indropped, recessed grooves ma-chined into the firebrick. Para-gon invented this type ofgroove in 1952. This grooveprotects the element for longlife and low maintenance. Ele-ments are simple to replace becausethey’re exposed rather than embedded.You can thread new elements into placefollowing clear instructions in the man-ual.

The firing chamber is protected by asteel case painted in high temperatureblue. A built-in stand lifts the firingchamber safely off your work table, sono extra stand is needed. The door ofeach Paragon heat treating furnace ismounted with a heavy duty hinge forsmooth opening. A micro-switch shutsoff the power to the elements when thedoor is opened.

We use high temperature wire in theswitch box for long life. A heat shield,mounted between the switch box andfurnace, helps keep the switch box com-ponents cool even during extended op-eration. To further dissipate heat, theswitch box is extra large and generouslylouvered. Each furnace comes with acord and plug for immediate installa-tion and a one year warranty.

Complete instructionsYour furnace includes a wiring dia-

gram, programming instructions, andheat treating manual. The manual givesyou basic heat treating instructions forD2, 440C, ATS 34 and 154 CM. Themanual is written in plain English forthe beginner.

In business since 1948Paragon Industries, L.P. is one of

the oldest and most widely recognizedkiln and furnace manufacturers in theworld. Paragon was founded in 1948and is a leader in ceramic kilns. In de-signing heat treating furnaces, we useideas that have been proven in Paragonkilns and furnaces since 1948. Many ofthe Paragon kilns manufactured twentyand thirty years ago are still firing.

AccessoriesKnifemaker’s HeatTreating Kit

Contains 1 pair hot gloves, 24" x 24"heat treating foil, 1 heat treating fork, 4knifeholders, and 8 firebrick supports.

Hot GlovesFor intermittent handling of hot

objects up to 400° F. Sold in pairs.Not intended for handling hot blades.

Heat Treating FoilThis high temperature stainless

steel foil protects knifeblades andother tools from fire-scaling duringheat treating. Include a small chip ofwood inside the foil packet. Thewood burns up the oxygen inside thefoil wrap. The foil cuts with scissorsand may be used only once.

Heat Treating ForkEasily removes knifeholders and

blades from the hot furnace. A slidingwooden handle allows you the mostcomfortable position for holding thefork. 31” long.

Firebrick SupportsPosition firebrick supports under

the knifeholders inside the furnace.The firebrick supports raise theknifeholders so you can slide the forkunder holders.

KnifeholderHigh temperature removable pins fit

into holes pressed into a ceramic base.The pins hold the foil-wrapped bladeson edge so heat can circulate aroundeach blade.

Kiln Coating andRepair Cement

A permanent, high temperature re-fractory cement for all types of kilnsand furnaces. Mix with water to repairfirebricks. Instructions included.

Firing Safety Glasses

Whenever looking into the firingchamber of a hot furnace, protect youreyes with firing glasses. They arecoated to filter infra-red and ultra-vio-let light. They also protect your eyesfrom heat and reduce glare.

Gas Injection Flow MeterOxygen in the furnace forms a scale

on the surface of knifeblades and otherparts during heat treating. To avoidsurface scale, wrap the parts in heattreating foil or inject an inert gas intothe furnace. The gas displaces the oxy-gen.

The solenoid kit enables you to turnthe gas on or off for each segment inthe firing.

©2004, by Paragon Industries, L.P. PA-55/4-04

The gas injection flow meter.

800-876-4328 / 972-288-7557Fax 972-222-0646

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