Another question this time about oil Quenching

Do you have another piece of the same stuff??

If so use it to test with so you don't ruin all that work. Start by trying to figure out what it is (spark test against known samples you have). Then test for heat treat method by heating to non-magnetic and cooling in air (moving air such as a fan may work better) then see if it got hard (such as by file testing). If it doesn't harden the move to a faster quench (cool oil, warm oil, water brine) to figure out the correct quenchant. Then temper start low and test the edge for chipping on a brass rod and go higher in increments of say 25 F till you are satisifed. If using a test piece or if you don't want to keep the knife, test to destruction.

ron
 
You may/may not have luck with unknown metal as it needs .5% carbon to harden properly from all I have learned. WHat most people recommend is heat to non-magnetic (check with a telescopic magnet every now and then until it no longer sticks) and quench. check to see if it can be scored with a file (if it will it probably won't harden enough for a knife). If the file skates off of it temper starting at approx. 400F for one hour. Let cool to room temp, check with a file. If is skates across, increase about 25 F and temper for an hour again. Repeat until file bites in a bit.

Note- I am a newbie at this so my practical knowledge is a bit lacking but I believe this is the way to try it out. More intelligent/ experianced people feel free to chime in if I missed anything.
(Son of Bluegrass beat me to it while I was composing my response)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top