Heat treat...
"The soul of a blade is born in fire." If the heat treat isn't dead on, its nothing more then
pointy scrap metal..
Heat treat and knowledge of the steel a bladesmith uses is the key to a above average knife. I have studied and tested the steel I use to such a degree I have a intimate knowledge of the steel I use.
My heat treat doesn't start at the quench but starts in my opinion at the steel mill, every time the steel is heated, from the Steel mill to finished blade affects the knife, this is why I'm careful where I get my steel from.
Once in my hands I start forging at a specific temperature and reduce temperature as i go to refine
and structure the grain size of the blade. Heat control is everything. I continually am in as tight control
of this as possible.

Normalizing, Quenching and Temper

All blades prior to hardening are very carefully normalized three time to reduce grain growth
and relieve stresses caused by forging and grinding. With three normalizing after forging
and three before hardening it makes for a total of six normalizing cycles to reduce stress and
grain size not including normalizing during the forging process.
Some people call this "thermo cycling" but for me thermo cycling begun at the steel mill and
continues through the tempering process.

Forging
I forge at a specific heat, reducing heat as I go, normalizing a few times at that stage,
so as you see, my thermo cycling starts long before many other Bladesmiths and all
stock removal makers
Normalizing
This heating of the steel causes the steel to relax due to stresses that forging and grinding
adds and also helps to refine the grain structure within the steel.
Quenching(Hardening)
I personally prefer using oil specifically made for quenching steel, not cooking oils, motor oils
or any homemade concoction some will say is "good enough" which is just what they get, a
"good enough knife". I require much higher standards out of a blade then "GOOD`NOUGH" and you should too!
Temper
During this stage the blade is drawn back at controlled temperature in three stages to draw
the steel out of the brittle state it was forced into during the hardening process (total transformation
from Austenite to Martinsite) to a useable rockwell hardness generally between 58 and 62
rockwell depending on the specific knives use.

Custom heat treating
There are several ways I heat treat and as such I offer custom heat treating. The same
rigid control applies as if it was my own blade. Some of the heat treating I offer is as follows

Standard full Quench blade
(Blade is fully hardened from edge to spine) This is the method I prefer and does make the best blade.
Update:
Due To recent research and evaluations I will no longer do anything but a full quench unless specifically requested differntial quenches for instance to reveal a quench line or Japanese style hamon. A fully hardened blade simpley is the toughest and best using blade.
There is NO reason what so ever to have a blade that can bend!