1084 or a2 ?

J

Joeyhoops

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Feb 1, 2013
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Ive been trying to figure out which would be better for a first time maker with limited tools and ht available im working on a piece at the moment just to see if I can make a piece of metal look like a knife its garbage steel from im guessing home depot I just figured if I could at least make it look like something I could justify buying a real piece of steel which brings me to my question ive been reading about 1084 and a2 I know a2 can be air hardened but can it be heat treated with something like a mapp torch or acetylene ive read 1084 can be done with a torch but no specifics on what kinda and how long and if id have to oil quench it thanks for any help
 
I was under the impression the non magnetic thing wasnt a good reference and if it is do I need a certain type of magnet
 
Joeyhoops said:
I was under the impression the non magnetic thing wasnt a good reference and if it is do I need a certain type of magnet
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Lots of information in the stickies on making your first knife. A2 is more difficult to heat treat than 1084. I have used one of those magnetic pick up wands from HF.
 
With the 1084, you want a heat range between 1475° and 1500°. Non-magnetic is 1414°. You need to go one or two shades of red beyond non-magnetic for the quench. A2 is beyond your equipment. It needs a soak heat at around 1750° for 20 to 45 minutes before cooling.
 
Right , typically the hardening temp is about 75 F above the Curie temp of 1414 F for most steels.
 
I usually say "One shade of red brighter than non-magnetic", because new makers are almost sure to overheat the blade anyway. Between 1450° and 1500°F will be the target, with 1474° as a good point to aim for. Most charts show a shade of red as about 50°F. So one shade brighter than the Curie point would be about 1465°F.
 
I use A2 and really like it but I am going to send out for heat treat. If you send out it, a difficult heat treat is irrelevant. 1084 is cheaper though isn't it?
 
Thanks for the replies guys I have been reading stickies but theres a ton of info to go through and I was getting a little lost in it is there a specific way to use a torch on 1084 and a certain amount of time that it needs to be at the 1474°
 
This is where im at with the crap steel its .25 thick so its kinda crazy to finish it by hand im gunna get thinner steel when I order it
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With your equipment, doing stock removal on Aldo's 1084, get it to temperature and quench. Clean the blade and temper in your oven or clean the blade and do a differential temper using your torch. You can preheat a pan of sand in your oven to moderate the heating and cooling cycles. Just place your blade in the sand.
 
Thanks for the help bo and I was gunna get aldos 1084 seems like alot of makers use his steel and thanks for the tips on the heat treat hopefully ill be able to get a piece of steel ordered on monday so I can really give it a go
 
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