Blasting off decarb?

[TooQuiet]

Thinking about using my cabinet to remove decarb from 1095. Anyone every try this or am I nuts?

 

[Matt Bufford]

Give it a shot. I've done it on knives with really heavy buildup with good success. Alox seems to work way better than beads. I guess the beads are just way too soft to make any quick progress which kind of defeats the purpose. But a fine grit Alox blast should work for you, and if your pre ht prep was enough, it could save you a couple steps with blade finishing.

 

[mete]

Are you talking about scale or decarb ? Two different things ! That black stuff is scale , iron oxide ! You can soak it in hydrochloric acid . Give the sand blasting a try you may have to experiment to get the best results. Below the scale you'll find a layer of decarb which is fairly soft as it's low carbon . That would be better removed with belts.

 

[TooQuiet]

I guess scale would've bben the correct term. It's the burn oil looking blue stuff after heat treat.