I too would like to know what's wrong with sending out for HT.
I'm not going to state there's a direct problem with it, but another knifemaker said, "when you send your knives away to someone else to be heat treated, you immediately lose your control over the quality of your steel."
When I read that it kind of stuck in my head, I think i also have a bad perception of it because so many places around puget sound that do heat treatment do bulk steel and I doubt they've ever touched a knife blank. I had such a hard time finding high carbon precision ground flat stock in the Puget Sound area i nearly gave up on it. Online metals has it, but I don't like the quality of theirs for some reason. Bohler-Uddeholm has some fantastic stuff and data-sheets available right on their site.
As for joel, in his video I'm fond of, he states the heat treatment is the heart and soul of a knife, if you don't get it just right, it's crap. That's a lot of trust to put in someone else for a piece you'll spend 15-30 hours on depending on the details.
I have a bit of contempt for Seattle hipsters, I can't really speak for Brooklyn hipsters, one of my best friends growing up has moved to Brooklyn and is your typical, "roof-top dinner at sunset with the empire state building in the background photo-op" kind of hipster and He's a great guy, a good writer, witty, and smart. But the people I run into in Seattle who anyone would call a hipster seem to be more rude, ego-centric, and making Heroin the comeback drug. Seattle hipsters are the kind of people you expect to see walking down the street, stepping over someone dying in the gutter, while editing a playlist on their iphone. I think it's a neglect towards building community that really gets me riled up about their general attitude.
Anyway, I don't see Joel as a hipster, he is a craftsman, an artist, a businessman, and passionate about creating something handmade and exquisite. It's his attitude and passion that are selling his knives, I think he'd do well in any major city, but the fact that Knife shops in New York faded out with the industrial revolution, and he's opened a handmade shop in an urban foodie area make it prime for hipster logic, "It's independent and not well known, I must have it to exploit how trendy I am" The only problem with that is at some point hipsters won't want it anymore. But then the wealthy elitists will catch on to it and he'll be set for life. :razz:
I spotted one of his Journeymen 240's on a Guy Ferrarrrri(sp?) show drive-ins diners and dives. As soon as they said they were in Brooklyn and showed the chef working in the kitchen I was hunting to see one, and sure enough, there it was, with a light blue handle. Joel has a good network, a good product, and a sea of chef's who will purchase, show off, and treasure his work until they can pass it on to a family member 20 years from now.
I'd personally love to talk knives with the guy and thank him for inspiring me with a craft that is so fulfilling I will do it until I die.