1095 heat treat

[Casey Conley]

Hey all! Massive newbie here. I've been into knives and collecting for several years and I've "made" a few basic spinners out of things like old saw blades. I'd like to try actually making one now using stock removal at first and then maybe forging later once I'm comfortable. I ended up taking a recommendation and buying some 1095 which I'm starting to think was a mistake. First knife I thought turned out fine (water quench) but after polishing up the blade I became aware of what I thought was a scratch. Unfortunately it was a hairline Crack and I chalked it up as a learning experience.
I've got two more knives shaped out and ready and I've also bought some parks 50 and the biggest container of canola oil I can find. All I have to heat treat with us an oxy-acetylene rig. I'm working on a 13" full tang bowie right now. I know my setup isn't optimal but for this first knife I'm really not looking for max performance just getting a feel for different things. When I go to heat treat should I heat the tang also? If so how much? If not, will this not cause the knife to bend under use? Should I do a full quench or try to do an edge quench? And what temp should I temper at for how long to get a decent blade? Last time I did 400 at 2 hours. Sorry for the newb questions, and thanks!

 

[A.McPherson]

Hey C Casey Conley , generally speaking is better to heat the whole knife evenly, quench and harden the whole thing. It leads to more consistent results.

Get a couple of fire bricks and make a 5 sided box with the opening on the side, toss your knife in and use your torch with a soft flame to heat the walls of the box.
Don't directly blast your knife with the flame, you'll overheat areas, and under heat others.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

1095 is a tough steel to learn on. 1084 or one of the eutectoid steels would be a better choice. Also, water quenching 1095 will almost always cause cracks or a complete failure. Most of us heard the dreaded "tink" when we water quenched our first 1095 blades. Use Canola oil or a commercial quenchant like Parks #50. Patks is perfect for 1095. Use #50 at room temperature, not heated. Canola needs to be heated to around 120°F for quenching.

 

[dwaterfield]

Casey, I am relatively new also and mostly work with 1095. Stacey's advice is spot on. I use Parks at room temperature in my shop; the smith I learned from used oil heated to about 150. I like the results I'm getting with Parks better - I often had to go for a second quench using Canola oil. I'm curious to try Canola at a lower temperature now, maybe that's why it didn't work as well for me previously.