1084 short sword

Liam Ryan

Liam Ryan

Joined
Sep 26, 2005
Messages
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I just pulled the trigger on a piece of steel, 24 inches of 3/16 by 2'' 1084.
I want to make a short sword with stock removal, and I have a few questions about the heat treat.
1084 has fairly high carbon content for a sword, but I am thinking if I get the heat treat correct I can have a sword with good toughness and still hold a great edge. The problem is, I have never actually heat treated anything, all my knowledge is just theoretical at this point, so, I need your help to get the right steps in order and minimize the chances of over/under hardening and possibly even cracking. :p

OK, here goes. Should I quench in oil or water? Plus, how important is water/oil temp, and how long do I hold it in the medium?

Is differential hardening with clay or what have you too difficult to do for a beginner?

How thin should I get the edge before I heat treat it?

What temperature should I temper it? Should I let it air cool after it comes from the oven? (kitchen oven, most likely)
Is more then one tempering cycle necessary?

OK, thats all I can think of, but if you have any more advice feel free to tell me. Thanks!:)
 
answers to all those questions are in the makers section stickies... have fun, be careful
 
Why not have it professionally heat treated? Save you time and money. Just a thought but heat treating a sword is very difficult to get right.
 
Walter Sorrells makes katana out of everything from 1050 to 1095. Howard Clark uses either 1084 or 1086 for most of his blades. My point is that your 1084 will make a great blade assuming you give it an appropriate heat treat.
If you've never heat treated anything yourself, I would do one of two things: (1) use that 24" of steel to make several knives first to get the hang of things, or (2) have it done professionally as gregorio suggested.
What type of sword are you making? I'd be very interested in seeing pictures along the way.

- Chris
 
I have a couple of knives in 01 to try first, get my feet wet and see how it goes, and I did consider getting it heat treated professionally, we'll see.
Still not sure of the design, a gladius would be nice, but I am going to wait until the steel arrives and see if inspiration leaps out at me. :)
 
Tell a local heat treater you want a medium spring temper. Otherwise, heat to 1500, soak to even temp, quench in oil, fully cool. Freeze if you like. Temper at 450 for 2 hours. That's approximate, but should give you a decent result. 1075 is a bit tougher.
 
When i made a large bowie in 1095 (18" overall) i quenched it in a long tray only submersing the edge, tip, and a sliver of the tang. This gave me a hard edge with a soft spine to support it. Then after the spine turned back to black i submersed the entire blade. You have to be carefull to not cant the blade or it will warp to the side, but with doing this i was able to control the warp lengthwise and it gave the blade a nice bow to it. I then followed the stops above for tempering. If your trying a double edge this wont apply but you'll be able to figure somthing out.

the only time i would send a blade off to a pro is if I made a truly flawless blade that I couldnt let myself screw up in the heat treat.

I would say do some more reading and experiment with what you have, it feels pretty cool when you tell yourself you just manipulated the molecular structure of steel with a campfire and a chafing dish full of olive oil! Experiment and have fun learning!
 
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