Can 5160 Air Harden

JTknives

JTknives

Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
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I am doing a little clean op of a knife i forged out last night. I took it to about 90 percent or more finished with the forging as i want it to keep most of the forged look. it seams that the tip of the blade is hard, but its just the very tip where its the thinest. i forged in a distal taper so the thinest point is just the very tip. I'm cleaning up the edge with a file and when i get to the tip it skates the file but it is a very dull file. but there is a noticeable hardness difference. My question is this. is it possible to make 5160 so thin that the air will cool it fast enough that it hardens? don't worry i will post pictures of the forged blade as it is the first knife i have forged in a very very long time.
 
I'm not sure but it must be possible for thin parts. Also maybe you've quenched in water, dipping in the bucket without knowing it...
 
nope no water, i forged it all in one sitting, im being littleral in the word sitting as thats how i like to forge. put the anvil on the ground, put the forge on the ground and sit on the ground and forge away. i know it must sound strange but for some reason i injoy it.
 
JTknives said:
nope no water, i forged it all in one sitting, im being littleral in the word sitting as thats how i like to forge. put the anvil on the ground, put the forge on the ground and sit on the ground and forge away. i know it must sound strange but for some reason i injoy it.
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It is really strange J, doesn't your back or legs hurts after a while after hammering sitting on the ground? Maybe the tip touched the cold ground, I don't know but it was what happened my latest D2 knife but it is air hardening so normal...
 
strangely enough my back feels fine and i just sit crossed legged so my legs are fine, just don't drop hot steel in the crouch area :( that would be bad. i forged for 2 hrs in that one position and got up feeling fine. maybe I'm just weird. i get more sore standing but that might have something to do with the 2 knee surgery's i have had, one on each knee. if you notice i grind while sitting as well but i use a chair.
 
The Japanese smith's forge in the sitting position also. But to answer you question yes i have had 5160 air harden on me to a certain degree. It is just enough to make it a PITA. If my file skates I just heat the blade with a propane torch just until you get color (very dull red). Then let it normalize. This should help. If not then do a full anneal.
 
this is a good example of my entire knife making experance. I started making knives when i was quite young and i did not have any one to talk to or book's to read about the subject. i just found what worked for me and what did not. this continues even today, i don't look at something and say well some one told me that this is not how it should be done so i can not do it that way. i take peoples advice and mesh it with how i do things and see how it turns out. if it works, good, if not o well try something different.
 
Raymond Richard said:
Crotch fire? Whats that? This comes from a smith who doesn't own any shoes......
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hay now i own shoes it's just that most of them are slippers :rolleyes:, thats Hawaii talk for flip flops or thongs as you most likley know them as. but don't call them thongs in Hawaii or they will think you are talking about something completely different :eek:. and if you call them flip flops they automatically know your a tourist ;).
 
I think that Ray is the one without shoes..Once the shoes get a look at his feet they spontaneously combust. :eek:
 
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