Jenken Vertical Airbath?

Jfk742

New Member
Do any of you have experience with one of these? I’m looking at the 21” and 30” models.

I have been looking at ovens for a while and was pretty set on a paragon until I saw a few videos of the Jenken. It seems like a well thought out design and I like the idea of being able to hang blades, but I don’t know if that is actually any kind of plus in application. The fact its on the ground is something I like. A table top oven would take up precious work bench space and my back doesn’t take kindly to lifting things on and off the bench all the time.

the controller is the other thing I’m having issues with making decisions and this applies across the board for any oven I’ve looked at. The touchscreens seem like a luxury especially considering the cost. The 3 key looks useable enough and considering all I really have interest in is simple carbon steel and possibly the occasional aeb-l. The 12 key controllers don’t seem worth the money compared to what you get over the 3 key. Again this is only my opinion as gleaned from what I’ve read about controllers and their usability, longevity and useful functions. Seems like if I decided to upgrade from the 3 key I would probably just bite the bullet and go with the touch screen.

A solid state relay seems like a no brainer given the lack of maintenance and the improved temp holding ability.

If there’s anything I didn’t think of any input is appreciated.
 

Bruno

Administrator
Staff member
One benefit would be the certainty that you don't accidentally bend thin blades when they are at temp. Especially if you ever want to do stainless or high alloy steel that is a benefit. If they hang straight down, then they will not bend. If they're horizontal and not quit stable, they might. I've seen it happen.

A problem might be losing heat every time you open it, because the heat rises up.
 

Jfk742

New Member
That was my biggest intended use at this point, kitchen knives and some stainless.

The main chamber is separated to some extent. Apparently it holds heat much better than it would appear. This is anecdotal though as I haven’t seen one in person.
 

Bruno

Administrator
Staff member
It's something I keep thinking about.
For shorter things like pocket knife blades or razors, there is no issue.
For fully flat things, there is no issue.
But I tend to make my kitchen knives with integral bolsters and it is very tricky to keep them at 1050 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes and not bend them. That said I am still thinking about molten salt but so far haven't started doing something with the idea. I like the idea of molten salt because scale is never an issue.
 

Jfk742

New Member
A salt setup I think would be ideal for heat treating but not so much for safety with my current forge. I think I would need to have a dedicated shop built out of non combustible material. A couple of stories I heard of how dangerous they can be soured me to pursue the thought any further at this point. I want one bad, seems like the fastest way to get through all the heat cycles and mitigating

I think I may just bite the bullet and order the 30. The 21 has a 9” section added to it to make it a 30. The end user has the ability to remove the section and a coil.

Ideally I would get both their EDC model and the 30. The EDC model is capable of heat treating a 13” OAL piece, which would cover about 80% of what I want to produce. I only have enough money for one oven though. I think it will be easier to find a smaller used oven locally or build my own after I get tired of heating a huge oven to do razors and smaller knives.

I have 3 big choke points for work in my forge. Heat treating, lack of a disc or wide belt grinder to aid in truing flats/solid foundation to start hand sanding, and lack of space.

The new oven would help aid with the ht process, allow me to do other operations while it heats, as well as reduce needed floor space if I trade my current setup to a vertical kiln.

I guess what it really comes down to is I’m still trying to talk myself into spending the money.
 

32t

Active Member
Spend what you can to get the best that you can but in the future you wil have second thoughts....
 

Jfk742

New Member
Decided to go crazy and bought the airbath 30. I’m planning on building a smaller electric oven to more efficiently ht smaller tools.
With Texas called off next year I figure I take that budget and use it for making my forge more efficient and capable of larger, consistently ht’d tools.

I will report back after I receive it in 2-3 months. Lots of forging and rough grinding to do before it shows up.
 

Bruno

Administrator
Staff member
I've decided to write off a bunch of materials this year with the extra money not being spent on the plane tickets.
There's several thousands in expensive steel and handle material.
I also have more wootz ingots on order including a stainless one.

I figure now is as good a time as any to write off things that will likely sit in stock for a long time and recuperate the money.
 

Jfk742

New Member
Silver lining to every cloud. I’d trade the oven to hang out with you guys for a week, though. You guys only play second fiddle to deer season.
 

Jfk742

New Member
Been given a delivery date of 1/20. I squandered my time and haven’t gotten much ready for the new arrival. This leather working business has given me a laundry list of tools to make. Now that I have a little confidence with the sheath thing I’m hoping I can get some time in this year to get a bunch of things made and possibly, finally sell something.... ...instead of just spending money.
 
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