Anyone got any new H/T ideas?

D

DaQo'tah Forge

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Has anyone been experimenting with any new types of heat treatments lately?

A while back I read a thread about some experiments that some were trying to see if they could improve their knives, but I never heard if they had any positive results?

I work with 5160 steel and I could use any advice on things I might try to push this steel to its limit.

My own experiments:
Right now I have shifted away from using the O/A torch to heat-treat my blades and now just use the forge to heat the whole blade.

I also have started to get a much better temper line on my blades when I don't lower the blade into the quenching oil to cool after I have edge quenched it.

I have always wondered if there were other ideas that some guys do that might be worth experimenting with. (The winter is getting long here, and I could use some ideas to run tests on.)
 
I'm going to try something a little different with my W-2. I like to use Canola oil, but I'm going to add some Jet-dry to speed up the quench. Don't know what's going to happen, but we'll see.
 
As a matter of fact I tried modified version of the Terry Primos method last night but with triple quenching 52100. Used the Even Heat digital oven set on 1500 F and coated the blade with Brownells P B C non-scaling compound at 500F, full quenched at 1500F in Brownells Tough Quench and repeated 3 times. The scale never formed and washed the compound off with water. The blade seems as hard as a file. Wish I had a rockwell tester.
 
Here's my new technique:

I make a huge fire out of oak. Then I strip off all my clothes and smear my body with charcoal dust and animal fat. I dance around the fire, drinking beer while I wait for my steel to heat, and when its ready, I beat it with a big rock while the Missus (also naked) does helper duty for me. It goes without saying she gets extremely annoyed when I slip with the rock and bash her knuckles.

I then trot off to the sacred well and draw a cool bucket of water for the quench (but not before I offer a sacrifice to Wodin for the priviledge of using the well). I add some of the lamb's blood to the quenching water along with some thistle.

When the blade is ready, I quench it in the water while repeating the phrase, "It's all a dream, It's all a dream" three times. If the blade doesn't crack, all is well and the gods are appeased, and the dance continues.

:D :D :D
 
I tried to air hardin 5160. Forged a test blade to a cutting edge than 1/8" and normalized by heating to 1500 deg. and left it in the forge to cool down, it was 60 deg outside and a cold breeze was blowing, I did this one time as I wanted to see if it would work, YES IT WILL. I ground a profile and the bevels with a cutting edge at 3/32"
used the forge and heated it to 1500deg, just the cutting edge about 3/4" wide and the point for one third of blade length. Removed it from the forge and held it in the air, This resulted in a hard edge and soft back. Haven't had time to complete testing but I do know that I have a more than decent cutting edge to work with. More to come as I have time to do testing. Gib
 
WOW!


some very cool ideas!



As far as I can tell in all the years I have lived in North Dakota, we really only have two seasons.

1 - The Dead of winter

And

2 - Mosquito season.
 
Here is a good starting question:

To anneal my knives, I heat the blade until red hot, and then slide into an old rubber boot that is filled with Vermiculite.

I then slide two junk blades that are also red hot on either side of the good blade buried in the Vermiculite.

However I had a bit of a problem sliding one of the junk blades into the old boot and I popped out the side. The hot steel cut a huge slice in the rubber of the boot so that the vermiculite spilled all over and so I now have to find a new container for my vermiculite annealing.

QUESTION: As I have to make a new set up to do my annealing, could you suggest a different system than my "old boot" filled with Vermiculite?
 
What kind of forge are you using? I have a vertical with 4 1/2-inch openings and when I want something annealed, I'll just stick the blade in the forge after I shut it off (on the ledge) then plug the hole with kaowool. Stays toasty for some time in there. :D
 
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