1095 water quench...

M

MCoughlin

Joined
Feb 1, 2005
Messages
471
:eek:Okay here I go again risking numerous hours of work for that dream hamon... I'm quenching in rain water. Anyone have any tips on the temp the water should be at before I quench? That is the one piece of info I haven't come across. The closest I have come to an awnser is "warm water" :confused:
I have a 5 gallon pale half filled with rain water(cold) and planned to add a gallon of hot water from the tap. I have 2 blades claycoated and almost dry. Should be dry by tonight.

Ideas?
Mike
 
Exactly 1 Uncrackazillion Degrees.

Seriously, i'd give advice on the temp I used, but my last one literally sheared the 10" blade lengthwise along my clay line, so I don't want to give any advice other than to expect the worst and hope for the best!
 
Add your tears from cracking the first blade to your bucket before you quench the second blade, that'll make it come out ok.

I cracked a 1095 chef's knife last week. :(
 
Try quenching in brine. I quench 1095 in a water/salt solution heated to 190 degrees. I have had a few crack but I found that it was due to stress risers. After I started rounding all sharp angles it stopped happening. Make sure you leave the edge about the thickness of a dime or you will crack the blade. I add 4 cups of salt to a gallon and a half of water. don't ask me why it just seems to work for me. Not sure what the rain water will do for you but let us know if it works.
 
The others already prepared you for the worse so other than a good supply of good luck if all you want to know is the water temp I would say 107.777 degrees F. Please note that the decimal precision is of the utmost importance. ;)
Jokes aside, are you using rain water because the water from the tap is too hard (chemically speaking)? Otherwise I see no reason for not using tap water. Brine will be a harsher quench than warm water and I would not recomemend it. 1095 will be prone to cracking so make sure you have thermal cycled the blade a bit to reduce hardenability and get everything homogeneous. Make sure that the blade is heated evenly an don't overheat. Do an interrupted quench. Best of luck but cracks are part for the course.
 
The only point that I'd make is while brine is a faster quench and thus harsher, it actually tends to be LESS harsh as far as cracking a blade goes. This is counter intuitive, but it works that way because plain water forms a steam jacket around the blade which is uneven and causes uneven cooling of the blade, but a salt water / brine quench the salt content of the water disrupts the vapor jacket and allows more even contact of the water with the blade on both sides and tends to get less warping and "ping of death"
 
uHH...
Ok....
So I guess suck it up is the lesson of today....

Thanks guys. Hopefully it will go well.
MIke:thumbup:
 
Justin.Mercier said:
The only point that I'd make is while brine is a faster quench and thus harsher, it actually tends to be LESS harsh as far as cracking a blade goes. This is counter intuitive, but it works that way because plain water forms a steam jacket around the blade which is uneven and causes uneven cooling of the blade, but a salt water / brine quench the salt content of the water disrupts the vapor jacket and allows more even contact of the water with the blade on both sides and tends to get less warping and "ping of death"
Click to expand...

Completely agree. But it is my "believe" that the bubbles created in the first stages of the water quench are in part responsible for the many and very attractive looks and activities in the hamon.
 
Well I did my water quench. Other than warping everything went ok. I used half room temp water and half hot water from the tap and had no cracking in either blade. I also scraped the spine clean figuring it might reduce the chance of cracking. I can see the hamon at 120grit so I'm hoping some interesting things show up throughout the polishing process. So far it looks like the best one I have created yet. The most detailed by far. I wish I had some ferric chloride though. I can't seem to find it here in Canada and no one will ship it because it can't be shipped by air (apparently). I will post pics when the polishing is complete.

Mike
 
i can check my radio shack around me i have 2 within 5 minutes drive. last time i bought some was about a year ago. i can buy and ship u pay my actual cost shudlnt be more then 10 bucks i imagine. also within 5 minutes of huge lapidry store if u need any crap like cerium oxide for your polish. Pete
 
Mike
You can get f.c. from any of these electronic suppliers. This link is for Ont. but if you are in another prov. just do a search for it here. I get it from Ottawa for 20 bucks a gallon. For everyone there are links to the suppiers in the U.S. as well.

http://www.mgchemicals.com/distributors/canada/distributors_ca_on.html
Bob


MCoughlin said:
Well I did my water quench. Other than warping everything went ok. I used half room temp water and half hot water from the tap and had no cracking in either blade. I also scraped the spine clean figuring it might reduce the chance of cracking. I can see the hamon at 120grit so I'm hoping some interesting things show up throughout the polishing process. So far it looks like the best one I have created yet. The most detailed by far. I wish I had some ferric chloride though. I can't seem to find it here in Canada and no one will ship it because it can't be shipped by air (apparently). I will post pics when the polishing is complete.

Mike
Click to expand...
 
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I'd use a wetting agent to reduce the bubbles, also a Dremel with a bent pin innit underneath your tank will also help reduce bubbles & as Jesus said, do an interrupted quench

I think that the bubbles may well add to an active hamon, but have had good results with the bubble reducing methods above
 
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