1080+ temper?

C

clockworkfish

Joined
Dec 1, 2010
Messages
161
I just heat treated some 1080+ from aks and everything went well i think, only issue that may or may not be an issue is the fact that when i pulled the blades out of the oven (set to temper at 425 because ive heard 400-450 is ideal for 1080 and i would assume 1080+) But instead of the straw color i was expecting i got red purple and, some speckles of blue in certain light as ive looked around for steel color/temp charts it seems like that would be around 500-550 degrees and i cannot tell if this is going to need re heat treating or if this is ok. according to the aks heat treat chart this should place at around 57-55 rc ( http://www.alphaknifesupply.com/zdata-bladesteelC-1080+.htm) is that wayy too soft for the steel? only reason why i cant make up my mind is because other steels with chrome and vanadium in them i have seen have much higher tempering temps thus in my mind at least making this a bit of a seprate beast from regular 1080.


So would this be too soft? is this going to be ok? do i need to re heat treat? if i need to re heat treat what procedure do i need to follow?
 
I guess it would depend on what you want to use the blade for when talking about the hardness of the blade. Having oil on the blade still will color the blade the different colors as well so... Was the blade cleaned before you tempered it and or did you grind it to clean it? Are you sure your oven was at 425 ( different thermometers in the oven besides the setting)? I found out that you get darker colors if you don't clean the blades by grinding to say 120 or 220, (which is what I take my knives to before HT), before you temper because there is still remnants of oil on the blade even if you cleaned it or rubbed it off.

I have not used 1080 so I am unsure about what an appropriate hardness. However, take a look at the Heat Treat info Kevin Cashen has on his site for another reference:

http://www.cashenblades.com/steel/1080.html

I would wait till you hear about the proper hardness for your intended use, and then decide what you want to do with it. Hope that helps a little.
 
the blade was uncleaned until after the first temper which is when i rubbed the flat ground bevel across a corse diamond wetstone (just what i had on hand) then coming out of the second temper it was like that reddish purple
 
It should be fine, most of the older slippies are'nt that high of an RC.
Give me a call sometime I'll help any way I can. 715 544 0115
Ken.
 
I've been told that the colors that you get out of an oven are not reliable. The tempering colors are for fast tempers in air using a torch or a hot piece of steel. So if you trust your oven reading you are probably OK.
 
If you're using a small oven then your blade could be too close to a heating element. If that is the case the metal could be heated to higher temperatures as the oven tries to hold a consistent temp.

If the oven is good (not to close to elements and is fairly accurate in temp) I'd use the knife as is. It's a good practice to use an oven thermometer and check it a few time until you're confident that the oven is accurate or you figure out how you need to adjust the setting.
 
Don't worry about the color.Use time and temp.Mine come out of the oven all different colors,even the oils off your hands can effect it.
I Rc test mine and have done a few for other folks worried about the color and they were all spot on.
Stan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top