A little tempering question.

R

redd1981

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Oct 4, 2011
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I think it was stacy who was discussing not too long ago the reasons to temper directly after quenching once the blade reaches room temperature(if thats even correct,my memory Isnt all that great).But I have also heard you should get all the gunk off your blade from oil quenching before tempering.

So my question is would a quick scrub with dawn just to get most of the oil off be ok or do I need to sand it all off pre temper.

I just cant see any burnt oil crust/scale on the blade having any adverse effect (besides a little smoke) at 400 than it would while quenching when the steel is around 1500. Also It takes me quite a while to hand sand all of that crap off of it anyway so it would be a while before I would be able to temper If that was the case.

Thanks
 
I am no expert on this but for what it's worth both blades I have had crack on me cracked while I was scrubbing them down in the 5 or so minutes between quench and temper. These were both blades that had been clay coated, but now I scrape the cement off straight out of the oil and go to the oven to temper without cleaning. The main issue I can see with not cleaning them is that if you try to go by colors the oil will change to a straw brown way before the blade has reached proper temp. If you have an accurate thermometer this is not an issue.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. maybe Ill just give them a quick rinse from now on just to minimize the smoke. I use canola oil for 1084 so the smokes not real acrid or anything.
 
I'm no pro but I just do a scrape with a wire brush and then a quick wipe down before temper. I don't wait until they are room temperature, maybe around 150F to 200F. Though, most of the oil on the blade at that point will evaporate off. I certainly don't use water unless I have to wait before tempering, if I don't have an oven available for an even temper. Of course, again, I'm new and my set up has changed multiple times...
 
I gently brush them off with a wire brush, wash with Dawn to get the oil off, and put in the temper oven. The delay should be as short as possible, but you don't have to be crazy about it. Just be gentle in cleanup.

You are correct that the gunk on the blade will not affect the temper if you just decide to quench, wipe, and temper. It does smell a bit.
 
Similar to Stacy and Karl. Out of quench, scrape off clay and wire brush, wash in sink with dish soap, then in the oven for temper. When quenching 1080, 1095, W2 clay-coated blades in Parks 50, I've never had a problem with cracking. Water, on the other hand... ;)
 
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