1084 Tempering

I find that a tempering temperature of just under 400 degrees F. works well. This is for Three tempering cycles though, each one of one hour, allowed to cool down with the oven. This is putting the blades in a hot, stabilized oven to avoid the heating-up phase temperature spikes. I finish with a slow spine draw, aiming to get the spins as soft as I can with out drawing anything below the center line of the blade. All this presumes a fully hardened blade to start with.
 
I do 375-380 for three cycles, but I air cool the knife between cycles. I also do an oil quench, so my spine/handle are dead soft to begin with, eliminating the torch draw step. Both ways work great! I have yet to be able to test the hardness on various places on my blades, but the usual tests hold up. If you want more detail in my process, just email me and I'll send you a Microsoft Word attachment...

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Dr. Steve Agocs
http://www.geocities.com/Chiro75/frames.html


agocs_s@hotmail.com
 
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