Can't seem to find any 1095 oil

Oh man. I didn't realize there was going to be warping. Is that just the edge or the whole thing? Is that also a risk with the oil or just the brine? Straightening by hand sounds like trouble.
 
Well, if you stress relieve first, and are very careful with your heat and have a very symmetric cross section and are using a good quench oil with proper technique - it's still going to warp a little. :D

There are two reasons we leave a little meat on the blade before quench. 1- it reduces warping, 2- it leaves something to grind off to remove minor issues. There is usually a little bit of a bend in the tip and perhaps a bit of waviness in the edge. Not a lot, but some. But a bend along the length of the blade can't be ground out - but it can usually be straightened. The best time to straighten is during the quench before 100% martensite formation, which will probably put you between 400-600 deg. Stop once it starts to "set up" stop and wait untill after temper. Don't try to bend untempered martensite.

If you're lucky the blade will come out of quench with only a minimal amount of movement and may be "good enough" as is. But I wouldn't bank on it.
 
Also, consider quenching a piece of scrap! Try rough-grinding down a long skinny piece to practice quenching on.

The first couple of times, it may help if you aren't worried about how it comes out.
 
Nathan, I appreciate you taking time out of describing the surface of the asteroid in Armageddon long enough to shatter all of my dreams.
 
I've actually got a piece that I screwed up that's going to be my test. It's cut out and beveled and slightly polished, so I think it's a good replica. If anything the edge wound up thinner on that than I'm planning now.
 
Like Nathan said you want to use plain old table salt but make sure and get the non Iodized salt. or if you have a water softener you can use the salt that you use in it but it is harder to get dissolved. When I said over heated i did not necessarily mean over heated as in the steel is too hot and you are ruining it i ment it is too hot to water/brine quench without cracking. If you were to oil quench the same blade aty the same temp it would be golden. some where around 1450 1475 seems to work well for me. you can do an interupted quench to help minimize the chance of cracking. Go into the brine count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and then remove the blade and count 1 2 3 4 5 and then repeat once more.

Good luck.
 
Thanks, guys. That's great information.

I have yet another question. How much of a hurry do I need to be in taking it out of the kiln and getting it into the quench? I assume the <1 second listed for getting down to 900 to beat the nose is purely the time in the quench? I can take a couple seconds to move it from the kiln over to my quench, right?

I have no idea at all what to expect with this heat treat and quench. Probably makes sense to get my ass away from the keyboard and start doing some test pieces this weekend.
 
DirtyBrad said:
Thanks, guys. That's great information.

I have yet another question. How much of a hurry do I need to be in taking it out of the kiln and getting it into the quench? I assume the <1 second listed for getting down to 900 to beat the nose is purely the time in the quench? I can take a couple seconds to move it from the kiln over to my quench, right?

I have no idea at all what to expect with this heat treat and quench. Probably makes sense to get my ass away from the keyboard and start doing some test pieces this weekend.
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You probably won't notice if you don't get full hardness, because you'll still get decent hardness. But yes, 1095 needs to be quenched really fast to get full hard.
 
cotdt said:
You probably won't notice if you don't get full hardness, because you'll still get decent hardness. But yes, 1095 needs to be quenched really fast to get full hard.
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There's going to be a point where I stop giggling about this stuff, right?
 
you need to get from the forge to the quench as fast as possible. it usually takes me half a second or less.
 
Okay. I've got a top-loading kiln and I'll have the quench right next to it. My plan is to have my friend open the kiln and I'll be ready with some big tongs. Knife will be blade down between two fire stones. I'll grab it by the back and slide it into the quench as you described before. I'll practice the move cold a few times and then for real with the test stuff. Hopefully I can get it down pat by go time.
 
The rate of cooling needs to be highest at the nose - around 900. The rate of cooling can be much slower when you're well above and below that - but 1095 is unforgiving about the quench so you don't want to press your luck.

You probably have a few seconds before you need to start the quench (this will be a function of edge thickness and air movement etc) before thin areas of the blade fall below the point where the rate of cooling needs to be very high. So while you don't want to waste any time, don't try and move so quickly that you're out of control.
 
Considering that the knife is going to be a simple large survival style knife, I would go with the canola before trying the brine. Quench it in 130 degree canola, temper the blade, sharpen it, and before you put handles and everything on it, just give the thing a try and see how it performs as far as cutting and edge-holding. I have heard (although I may be mistaken) that even when using brine, there is the possibility of very fine cracks in the blade that are not even noticeable to the naked eye. If I wanted a survival knife, I would be more concerned about it not breaking in half during hard use than whether it has the best edge holding or not. But that is just my opinion. Maybe the pros know more about avoiding these "invisible" cracks during a brine quench.
 
Bill Burke said:
you need to get from the forge to the quench as fast as possible. it usually takes me half a second or less.
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Ya just dont do like i did once. i whipped the blade out of the forge and was going for the quench but the tip of the knife was not clear of the forge door. well lets just say the knife went into the quench bent :grumpy:
 
JTknives said:
....i whipped the blade out of the forge and was going for the quench but the tip of the knife was not clear of the forge door...
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Ha!..... been there buddy. My "bump" knocked the blade out of my tongs sending it bouncing off my anvil and into my water bucket! It was an O1 blade. Have you ever put O1 into a bucket of cold water? It was SOOOO WRONG that all I could do was laugh. (after the instinctual screaming of "F#<K!!!", of course)


Rick
 
Magnussen said:
Ha!..... been there buddy. My "bump" knocked the blade out of my tongs sending it bouncing off my anvil and into my water bucket! It was an O1 blade. Have you ever put O1 into a bucket of cold water? It was SOOOO WRONG that all I could do was laugh. (after the instinctual screaming of "F#<K!!!", of course)


Rick
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What happened afterwards? :D
 
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