Accidental hamon

S

Sam323

Joined
Oct 17, 2015
Messages
3
Hi All,

First time poster, firstly let me just pass on my thank you to everyone who shares there information on knife making via this or any other forum, its a valuable source of information for new knife makers.

So I have been making kitchen knives for over a year and have been exclusively using 1084. I have now ventured into 1095, HT is carried out by normalising at 857c twice and then dropping the temp to 801 and soaking for 15min before quenching in houghtons fast quenching oil - heated to 50c. Blades are cleaned and tempered at 150c for 2 x 2 hour cycles.

This is what I get - blade at a 400 finish

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv200/sam323/Mobile Uploads/image_zps9ulkra8o.jpg

Question is should I be getting such a effect or should the steel be more uniformed. I do edge quench as my tank is horizontal...Anyway thoughts?
 
Last edited:
Sorry I won't click photobucket links anymore. Too much crap on that site now days.

But I did want to check out your photo.

image_zps9ulkra8o.jpg


Not bad for an accident.

-Clint
 
That isn't uncommon with 1095 and W2. A few makers don't use clay at all and get stunning hamon.
 
Upsetting!! I know it shouldn't have been super easy to get a fast oil outside the USA, and realizing it is not enough to full quench a kitchen knife thickness blade :mad:
Here in Italy i have given up trying to find a proper quenching oil, houghton seems not to have interests doing business here....at least now i know their fast quench is not up to the task!!
Did you agitated the blade in the quench or left it still?
 
I was also wondering if you agitated the blade while quenching it. Perhaps the thicker sections did not cool fast enough because the blade was not agitated.
 
stezann said:
Upsetting!! I know it shouldn't have been super easy to get a fast oil outside the USA, and realizing it is not enough to full quench a kitchen knife thickness blade :mad:
Here in Italy i have given up trying to find a proper quenching oil, houghton seems not to have interests doing business here....at least now i know their fast quench is not up to the task!!
Did you agitated the blade in the quench or left it still?
Click to expand...

S.Alexander said:
I was also wondering if you agitated the blade while quenching it. Perhaps the thicker sections did not cool fast enough because the blade was not agitated.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a problem with the quench oil. The houghton fast stuff is supposed to be on par with parks 50.
He said he edge quenched the blade since his tank is horizontal. Edge quenching will from my understanding usually provide a hammon in any steel capable of a hammon or at the very least a hardening line. I imagine the waves in the hammon came from agitation.
I could be wrong.
Terry
Edited to add. That looks like a chef knife of some sort so I would imagine that it's thin enough that canola oil would do the trick in a full quench let alone a engineered fast quench.

Houghton is supposed to be an international company so it may take some doing but finding a source in or around Italy should be feasible.
 
Sorry about the slow reply!

Yes the blade was agitated, Quenched fast as I know 1095 requires a fast drop in temperature and agitated the length of my quenching tank till reasonably cool. I HT before grinding but the bar is thin at 2.6mm

Would be great to have a rockwell tester as all I can do at this stage is the old file test.

Stezann we are lucky in Australia to at least have one company who stocks most of what a knife maker needs (Gameco) including houghton fast, Parks 50 is nowhere to be found in AUS...As far as I know. Its a hell of a lot more expensive then canola oil
 
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