Whether you’re shopping for your very first heat treat oven or looking to upgrade, you might find yourself a little overwhelmed. There are a lot of options: From small heat treat ovens to massive industrial furnaces, and everything in between.
Throughout this article, we’ll be exploring different features you should consider to help narrow your search and find the heat treat oven that’s right for you!
Factors to Consider When Shopping for Heat Treat Ovens?
Below is an overview of different factors you should consider in your search for a heat treat oven. Later in the article, we’ll be exploring each of these considerations more in-depth as well as providing a few recommendations.
- Functionality: Will this heat treat oven be capable of properly executing the firing schedules you need? Does it include features that will enhance your productivity and make your life as an artist easier?
- Size [Chamber Size & Overall Dimensions]: Will this heat treat oven be big enough to accommodate the mediums you heat treat while still fitting within your studio or workspace?
- Maximum Temperature: You will need a heat treat oven capable of reaching high enough temperatures for the metals and alloys you use.
- Power Rating: Based on its power rating, will this heat treat oven require additional electrical work for installation?
- Heat Treat Controller Method: Does this heat treat oven provide an oven controller method that allows you to easily input your firing schedules, monitor your oven, and maximize the consistency of your output?
- Budget: Heat treat oven costs can vary widely, so you’ll want to make sure to shop for an oven that’s within your budget – while understanding that kiln costs don’t just end after making your purchase!
- Safety Features: From standard solid-state relays to cool touch lids (or, for our partners at Hot Shot, Cool-Touch Technology for the entire exterior), investing in oven safety features can save a lot of headaches (and money!).
- Quality, Reliability, and Manufacturer Reputation: A heat treat oven is a big investment, so it’s important to choose one that’s built to last from a brand you can trust.
- Customer Service: Additionally, most customers will need support for installation and keeping their kiln operating at peak performance. Make sure to choose a heat treat oven manufacturer that provides top-shelf customer service.
Functionality: How Will You Be Using Your Heat Treat Oven?
When shopping for a heat treat oven, the first question you need to answer is how you’ll be using your oven. This answer will determine how you need to weigh other factors such as size, power rating, maximum temperature, controller method, and more.
For instance, if you’ll just be heat treating metal clay, jewelry, or other small projects, you’ll probably just need a small heat treat oven. For heat treating knives, you might get by with a small heat treat oven, but you may also want to invest in a slightly larger oven. For heat treating blades or other large objects, you’ll probably need a large, high-powered oven.
What you’ll be using your heat treat oven for has a big impact on what type of features you should look for in your oven, so make sure to think long and hard about what kind of projects you’ll be wanting to do – both now and in the future!
Size: Making Sure Your Oven is a Good Fit
Different heat treat projects require different oven sizes. But there are two sizes you need to keep in mind! The chamber size measures the interior dimensions of a heat treat oven. You’ll need a chamber size that is long enough, high enough, and wide enough for your project to fit inside.
However, the exterior dimensions are equally important – because you’ll need to make sure your oven fits your workspace! Our partners at Evenheat have a really cool stackable design for their heat treat ovens, which is a perfect way to save space for artists who run multiple heat treat ovens or a dedicated tempering oven.
As a side note, we strongly recommend never storing your heat treat oven outside. Exposure to the elements can drastically decrease the lifespan of your heat treat oven, your heat treat controller, and can cause all sorts of maintenance issues.
Maximum Temperature: Does Your Oven Get Hot Enough?
Different metals and alloys have different critical temperatures that will need to be reached or exceeded for successful heat treatment. Below are the maximum temperatures you’ll need for hardening or normalizing different metals and alloys used in heat treat:
- Sterling Silver: 1350°F
- 1084 Steel: 1600°F
- 1095 Steel: 1600°F
- 80crv2 Blade Steel: 1650°F
- C1500 Copper: 1796°F
- A2 Medium Alloy Steel: 1800°F
- A6 High Carbon Steel: 1875°F
- Stainless Steel: 1900°F
- T2 Tungsten High Speed: 2375°F
As you can see, that’s quite a range! And if you need to fully melt any of your metals or alloys, you’ll need an oven capable of reaching significantly higher temperatures than those listed above.
So, you’ll want to do plenty of research about the types of metals and alloys you’ll be working with prior to purchasing a heat treat oven.
Power Rating: Is Your Oven Plug and Play – Or Is There Work to Be Done?
Additionally, size and maximum temperature will have an impact on the power rating of your heat treat oven.
When it comes to voltage, heat treat ovens typically come in 120V and 240V configurations. If you buy a 120V kiln, then you can usually just plug that into a standard outlet (although if it draws over 15 amps, then you’ll need to install a dedicated circuit). On the other hand, a 240V heat treat oven will require a special wall outlet and wiring that you may need to have installed by a professional electrician.
Amperage is another factor that may require specialized electrical work. A heat treat oven exceeding 48 amps will need to be wired directly into your power supply. Make sure to pay special attention to voltage, amperage, and wattage when shopping for your next heat treat oven to avoid any unforeseen expenses.
Heat Treat Controller Method: Function, Precision, and Usability
Of course, as a leading temperature controller manufacturer, we might be a little biased. But we believe that your heat treat controller is an extremely important consideration when shopping for heat treat ovens.
We developed the TAP Ecosystem for a reason, and that’s because most heat treat controllers are extremely complicated and not very fun to use.
TAP Controllers have a ton of benefits for heat treat, allowing you to:
- Easily control your oven with responsive touchscreens and intuitive menus.
- Save time and enjoy peace of mind with remote temperature monitoring and remote control through TAP Kiln Control Mobile.
- Always have the firing schedule you need with the ability to save an unlimited number of schedules with an unlimited number of steps.
- Maximize accuracy and consistency with PID temperature control algorithms.
- Always know the exact status of your oven with push notifications, alarms, real-time firing graphs, and alerts for preventative maintenance.
However, regardless of the type of heat treat controller that comes included with your oven, you will need to make sure it’s capable of executing the necessary functionality.
A lot of heat treat artists only require a single setpoint controller. That’s because you’ll just be heating your alloys to a specific temperature and then managing your cooling process outside of your oven.
However, a multi-setpoint controller can add an extra level of flexibility and convenience for some artists.
Budget: Finding Something in Your Price Range
Obviously, budget is a big consideration when it comes to purchasing a heat treat oven. And, as we mentioned earlier, you will need to make sure you’re looking past initial purchase when it comes to cost. Supplies, installation, firing costs, and maintenance will all have additional costs.
That said, we encourage you to hold off on making an impulse purchase and saving up as long as necessary to make sure you get the oven that’s right for you.
If budget is a concern, below are several tips:
- Rent Before You Buy: If you need time to save money, renting a heat treat oven can be a great interim option. You can try contacting local studios to see if they have any availability for renting studio time. You can also try your hand at kiln rental apps. Apps like KilnSpace by Bullseye Glass and KilnShare are more geared towards glass artists, but you may have some luck finding oven rentals.
- DIY Oven Build: A DIY oven build is outside the scope of this article (maybe someday!). But, if you’re particularly savvy, building your own heat treat oven can be an extremely cost-effective solution. Forums like BladeForums, Knife Dogs, Practical Machinist, and I Forge Iron all have extremely knowledgeable, helpful communities that can provide guidance. Reddit and Facebook groups are also places that could possibly help you with that endeavor.
- Shop Used Ovens: The used marketplace on places like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist can be a really good option for securing a heat treat oven at a very good price. However, you’ll want to make sure to do some homework! Buying a kiln that comes from a reputable manufacturer can help, but you’ll also want to inspect the kiln itself – as well as the elements, thermocouples, and wiring – for any signs of corrosion, shorts, or other wear-and-tear.
- Shop Sales and Promotions from Places Like Kiln Frog: In addition to competitive pricing, our partners at Kiln Frog regularly run awesome deals and promotions on their extensive selection of heat treat ovens. If you’re patient, you can maximize your budget by catching a good sale.
- Shop “Damaged in Shipping” Specials: Additionally, kiln manufacturers sometimes provide significant discounts for heat treat ovens that were damaged during shipping. This damage is purely cosmetic and doesn’t affect the oven’s functionality – so this can be a great way to get the oven you want at a deep discount.
Our Recommendations: Quality, Reliability, and Manufacturer Reputation
Finally, we recommend looking at your heat treat oven as an investment. A well-made heat treat oven can last years or even decades with proper maintenance. In the long run, that will be a much more cost-effective solution than buying a cheaper oven that won’t last or that causes constant problems.
The following manufacturers create very high-quality heat treat ovens with a host of awesome features – plus, they all include TAP as a pre-installed option!
Evenheat Kiln
Evenheat Kiln provides a huge selection of American-made heat treat ovens and knife kilns – from small heat treat ovens to large vertical ovens. With a reputation spanning over seven decades, Evenheat’s American-made ovens all include quiet solid state relays for maximum reliability and sometimes include cool features like stackable configurations and cool touch handles.
Evenheat prides themselves on building kilns and ovens that offer unparalleled precision, exceptional performance, and enduring reliability.
Hot Shot Ovens and Kilns
Hot Shot Oven & Kiln, based in Wisconsin, builds high-end, American-made ovens that include tons of great features for knifemakers and bladesmiths. In addition to pairing all of their kilns and ovens with the world’s most advanced programmable controller, Hot Shot includes standard solid-state relays with all their ovens and offers patented Cool to Touch Technology for the entire exterior of some of their builds.
Jen-Ken Kilns
When it comes to swords, battle axes, or even lampworking, Jen-Ken Kiln’s Vertical Bath Kiln Series are an awesome option for heat treating longer objects. Family-owned and operated in the U.S. since 1951, Jen-Ken Kilns prides themselves on reliability and customer service.
Explore TAP Heat Treat Oven Controllers by SDS Industries
Are you looking for a heat treat controller that provides more precision and convenience for heat treating? TAP by SDS Industries has got you covered!
The TAP II and TAP II Pro Controllers by SDS Industries provide advanced, precise, and easy-to-use multi-setpoint controls for your heat treat oven. Both controllers offer responsive controls and an intuitive graphical user interface on a large, easy-to-read touchscreen that allows you to specify ramp rates and hold times for each step for maximum convenience.
Additionally, our TAP&Go is a single setpoint controller designed specifically for heat treat. With simplified controls and a more affordable price point, TAP&Go provides the fundamental functionality knifemakers need!
All of the TAP Controllers are compatible with any relay-controlled kiln or oven and integrate with the TAP Kiln Control Mobile app to maximize your productivity while always keeping you informed on the status of your kiln.
We invite you to explore our selection of programmable kiln controllers, standalones, and conversion kits on our online store. You can also purchase TAP Digital Controllers or TAP Controlled Kilns and Heat Treat Ovens through one of the following distributors:
- Evenheat
- Hot Shot Oven & Kiln
- Paragon Kilns
- Mobile Glassblowing Studios, LLC
- Jen-Ken Kilns
- Kiln Frog
- Sheffield Pottery
- Delphi Glass
Heat Treat Ovens FAQ
Why is PID temperature control important for heat treat?
When you’re shopping for heat treat ovens, you’ll probably stumble across the words: PID temperature controller. You might start getting the idea that this is an important selling point. That’s because it is! But what exactly does it mean? Think of it this way. In heat treat, there are two separate temperatures: The temperature you enter into your controller and the exact temperature your oven chamber actually reaches. In a perfect world, these temperatures match up one-to-one. However, this isn’t always the case. A PID temperature controller monitors your actual oven temperature and makes real-time adjustments to controller outputs to ensure your oven adheres as closely to the programmed setpoints as possible. Precision is extremely important to make sure your finished wares have the properties and qualities they need. That’s why all of the controllers in the TAP Ecosystem use PID control algorithms to ensure accuracy.Can I upgrade my controller for an existing heat treat oven?
Yes! If your primary motivation for buying a new heat treat oven is to upgrade from frustrating controls, you don’t need to buy a new oven. Below are several options for upgrading your heat treat oven controllers:- Using a Standalone to Upgrade Manual Controllers: If your oven has a manual controller, a standalone heat treat controller is a plug-and-play upgrade kit that bypasses your old controller. All you have to do is run the thermocouple into the chamber of your oven and plug your oven into the standalone controller.
- Using a Conversion Kit to Replace Automatic Controllers: If your oven already has an automatic controller, a conversion kit provides a kit that includes faceplates and wiring harnesses for a 1:1 replacement – often with no modification to your oven.
- DIY Controller Installation: Finally, if you’re a competent DIYers, the most cost-effective option is to purchase a digital oven controller and install it yourself. This will involve splicing some wires and possibly fashioning a faceplate. We do not recommend this for beginners. However, you can find wiring diagrams here if you opt for this upgrade method.
Where can I learn more about heat treating?
If you’re looking to learn more about heat treat, you came to the right place! Below are a few articles to help you get started:Understanding Heat Treat Controllers
- Guide to Choosing Heat Treating Controllers
- Understanding Electric Heat Treat Furnace Controls
- All About Oven Controllers
- When to Use a Single Setpoint Controller
Learning More Industrial Heat Treatment
Guides & Processes
- Heat Treat 101: Guide to Heat Treating [2026]
- Complete Guide to Heat Treatment
- Heat Treating Knives: A Complete Guide to Knifemaking [2026]
- Perfecting Your Bladesmithing Process
