Axe head was in a fire.

H

hdmc1974

Joined
Jun 1, 2015
Messages
77
A buddy of mine asked me to harden an axe head that went through a fire. I brought it to non magnetic and edge quenched. Still soft so I did it again this time I let it soak a little longer but i accidentally dropped the whole thing in. But the edge is the only thing soft. What gives?

Sent from my XT1042 using Tapatalk
 
From forge to quench the edge will cool the quickest. It may have dropped below critical. What kind of steel is the ax head? Also, the heat from the head will temper the edge after an edge quench. If you let edge temper to hot, that could have softened it on the first try.
 
Bo T said:
From forge to quench the edge will cool the quickest. It may have dropped below critical. What kind of steel is the ax head? Also, the heat from the head will temper the edge after an edge quench. If you let edge temper to hot, that could have softened it on the first try.
Click to expand...
Makes sense for the first time I edge quenched that the heat in the body of the axe head could temper the edge down. But the second time I dropped the whole thing in the oil. I didnt waste time getting it into the oil. I don't know what it's made of. The file skates off the body but digs into the edge. I'm confused

Sent from my XT1042 using Tapatalk
 
First - Grind a bit off the edge to see if there is a layer of decarb.

If that doesn't find hard steel:
Re-heat to 1500-1525F - which is about 100F above non-magnetic - and quench in either fast oil or brine ( your current oil may be far too slow for the steel). I would quench half the bit part of the head deep ( about 2") and hold it there for a count of ten, then drop the whole head in until cool.
Grind a bit rto get clean steel and check for hardness.
Temper twice at 450-500F.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top