Could you remake them with a glow, not so much in the detail but an overall glow, like when you take them out of the furnace. A dull red glow for heated, with a gradient tone from the red spectrum, the edges being a lighter orange than the core, a dull red; a yellow glow for super heated, with the same gradient but a yellow to a dull orange instead; a bright white glow, the gradient going from white at the edges to bright orange at the core. The core being the thickes part of the weapon, the edges being the thinnest.
As far as the plha beta and delta stage, how ahout a flat rod for alpha, no decernable shape, maybe just a size correction. A rough concept with the edges, shank, and tip for a beta, and what you have now for the delta stage.
I would use this look for the brittle and dull stages, except mak it a a bit darker for the brittle stage and lighter for the dull stage to differentiate the two, and use a polished version after using the wheel and before assembly.
(with notch ) [<= right word uh?]
You can use the word shank for that part of the weapon.
