(Another?) Long Stainless san mai question

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PrestonW

Joined
Jan 13, 2021
Messages
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Hello everyone,

This is my first post so if it is in the wrong place apologize. I will start out by saying that I have been on here for a short while and have learned a tremendous amount. I am new to knifemaking and have not had to post due to the ridiculously awesome amount of info already available. So thank you everyone for that. Here comes the novel:

Before I pose my question here is a little background on the knife in question. I am currently working on my second knife which is a san mai with a 1095 core and 304 stainless jacket. The 1095 started out as a 3/16" blank. The stainless is one 1/8" blank on each side. This was all hammered down to about 1/8" total thickness. I have roughed ground the primary bevel at about 3.5 degrees. It does not appear to have any delamination. Hope this is enough info to get some answers.

Now to my question... I have seen many carbon/stainless san mai knives on many forums that have split the carbon steel directly down the center and not along the weld line. I am preparing to heat treat this knife and was wondering if the vast knowledge of this group could help me conclude whether it would be better to quench the whole blade and hope for the best or to edge quench the carbon portion and leave the rest unburdened. I am not as concerned with the toughness/brittleness as I am with just having this knife stay in one piece. I do not have access to any quenching substance other than canola oil, water, or brine. Right now I am leaning towards using furnace cement on the spine and where the stainless is and leaving the edge exposed to edge quench. Using an oxyacetylene torch or my 2 burner propane forge are my two options for heat. Thanks in advance for any helpful info.
 
If you haven't seen, @Natlek posted couple of times on this topic and I think the conclusion was to edge quench.
 
Did you end forge the bar?
If you end forged it and the bar didn’t split, then you should be ok to quench and not split.

Me I would use the propane forge and quench the whole bar in straight water. Why? Because for laminated steel you want the whole bar stiff and hardened.

but you said “I am with just having this knife stay in one piece”. So just edge quench it then
 
Thanks for the info guys. HSC, being a newbie I am not familiar with what exactly end forging is. I am planning to spend some time with some blacksmiths soon in the area to get better acquainted. I did put the bar at about a 45 degree angle on the anvil and beat on it to ensure the laminations held and didnt slip at all if that is similar to what you are referring to. I am assuming the canola oil is too slow for the 1095 and water would be a better choice?
 
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End forging is placing the bar on the thin end to Create a hidden tang or to make a point for the tip.
 
Do you have any pics in the current state? Im wondering how much stainless you have left.
 
I will see if I can figure out how to upload a couple of pictures. I did in fact end forge it in order to shape the tip and the palm swell.
 
PrestonW said:
I will see if I can figure out how to upload a couple of pictures. I did in fact end forge it in order to shape the tip and the palm swell.
Click to expand...

Easiest way is to upload on Imgur and copy/past the link here in the image button that you can see in the pop up window that you write your message in.
 
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