Closest steel to Opinel Carbon for Knife Making

[TangoDelta]

So what you are saying is better luck next time?!!

 

[Joshua Fisher]

So what you are saying is better luck next time?!!

In this case I’d say yes, I’d start a new blade. Use the first one as a template if you like the shape but my guess is the blistered spot was right were the burner was sitting, you should keep the blade moving in the forge, I alway tell students when teaching simple heat treating that you should never let go of the knife, it should be held in tongs or vise grips the entire time and you are constantly checking to see when it’s up to a good color to quench. With the lights off you want a bright red, if it’s bright orange or yellow it’s way too hot, let it cool down and even out to a bright red before quenching.

 

[SBuzek]

Get a piece of pipe to use as a muffle, build your fire around itthen put your blade in the pipe and keep checking it till it gets to a low red. Check for nonmagnetic then and every shade higher. When you get nonmagnetic go a small shade brighter red then quench.

 

[TangoDelta]

Get a piece of pipe to use as a muffle, build your fire around itthen put your blade in the pipe and keep checking it till it gets to a low red. Check for nonmagnetic then and every shade higher. When you get nonmagnetic go a small shade brighter red then quench.

Thanks - I will try that. Once you have decarbonised a blade it will never harden - is that correct? I must say I am surprised by how sharp I can get it - but I have read that is as much to do with the angle of the edge as the steel - is that right?

 

[SBuzek]

Thanks - I will try that. Once you have decarbonised a blade it will never harden - is that correct? I must say I am surprised by how sharp I can get it - but I have read that is as much to do with the angle of the edge as the steel - is that right?

Yes geometry cuts,h/t tells you how long it will cut.

 

[TangoDelta]

My next blade I would like to forge out of 8670. I know my last attempt at heat treating decarbonised the blade in places...

Is there a risk of this when forging with charcoal and a hair dryer and a metal pipe as your forge?

How can one prevent this?

After shaping the steel how should one normalise it before a heat treat?

And then for the heat treat is placing it in a steel pipe the best way to get an even soak for a beginner?

many thanks

 

[A.McPherson]

You de-carb steel by getting it too hot for too long. Any heat source will do it.
If the only thing you have to go by is eye, then you want to keep the steel below the yellow range while forging. Also, forge somewhere dark, either dusk, or under shelter where you have good dark shadows. That'll let you see color more accurately.