For the purpose of blade crafting. I need to heat treat this low quality steel i got.It's ASTM A36Is heat treatable and temperable?
A36 is plain carbon structural steel. A36 could almost be considered junk steel. It is not suitable for cutting tools in any respect, as it is far to soft to hold an edge. A36 generally cannot be heat-treated, A36 can only be strengthened by cold-working, and even then, only up to about 60,000 psi. Heating the steel will only make it softer. The only real virtue of A36 is that it's easy to work with, it's easily cut and machined and it is very easy to weld. This is good for making steel structure, but not for knives. Probably the most popular material for knife blades is type 440C stainless. 440C is easy to work with in the un-treated state, and the heat treatment procedure is relatively simple.
