1084/1095 heat treating advice appreciated

S

Snixon

Joined
Feb 8, 2003
Messages
15
Hi there
Anyone got any hints on properly heat treasting 1084/1095 in the workshop without complicated equipment?
ATM I am heating to non magnetic and then quenching in hot (not sure how hot) olive oil. I am then tempering it to a light straw colour. Lately though I have thought maybe that this is a little hard so I have been tempering to brown colour. I do have a gas oven inside so I could just put them in for 200 Celcius but I dont like bothering my mother.
So what colour so I temper to?? Or is the oven a much better place for doing this?
With my latest knife I have left off the handle scales and done a basic cord wrap so I can retemper if I have too - at the moment its tempered to dark straw. Anyone think I should sharpen/bevel the back edge? I was planning to temper it again anyhow after leaving it in the freezer for a week (sure it might not do anything but it cant hurt)
Thanks for any help
Stephen
living at home at 30 8-(
perrinimatation.jpg
 
Bring steel temperature up slowly and soak at 1450 - 1475 F (or use your magnet but bring temp. up slowly and evenly). Quench very quickly in pre-heated oil (135 - 140 F). Have the tempering oven pre-heated before quenching and place in 400 F oven when the steel is hand warm. Temper 1 hour, let still air cool to room temperature and repeat temper at 25 degrees F less than the first temper. Use the oven and time instead of trying to judge by color, use a good oven thermometer. Color can tell you if you tempered too high though. If you get blues or purples your tempering way too high. Use a good inexpensive oven thermometer.

1095 requires a very fast transition from austenitizing to quench. 1084 should also be quenched rapidly but may not be as critical as 1095.

RL
 
Yup, just about like what RL said, except I austenize at 1550 with 1095 to give me a bit more time to get it into the quench tank and miss the nose of the TTT curve.

I usually temper at 350 twice for 1.5 hours each. Blades come out at around 58 or 59 HRC.
 
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