did my claying work? hamon analysing

Knifemaker87

Knifemaker87

Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
1,073
hey everybody...
this is a 3/16" 1095 high carbon steel...
i clayed it in a sorta wave pattern then quenched it in 11 second oil from McMaster Carr.
which part is the hardening line? how can i get more clarity in the hamon? should it be further up? did i not heat it enough? was it too hot? i just cant seem to get mine to look like i want it to.
any help would be appreciated

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thanks so much
~Chris
 
Chris, looks like you might have some soft steel along or real close to the edge but you have more lines above that, so it hard to tell. Usually a little longer soak or a little higher heat would bring the line up higher on the blade, keeping the clay thin (1/8" or so) is a good thing to. To bring it out more, etch more and don't use sandpapper to clean the oxides off, use something less abrasive.
 
okay...
that works. i kept the clay nice and thin... but i can get it a little warmer... i soaked it for about 5-10 min. what would you recomend to clean it off? also... how polished is the blade before you etch? do you use FC?
thanks
~Chris
 
Try 0000 steel wool to clean off the etch. I have had good luck with the FC from Radio Shack.

Good luck

Alex
 
You're on the right track. Definitely didn't harden, so normalize that sucker, recoat and try again. Either your clay was too close to the edge or you didn't get it hot enough or quench fast enough (or combinations of those). Pretty nice finish on it, though. Next time is the charm!
 
I rub the black oxides off with a 3M ultra fine sanding sponge but 0000 steel wool should work also.
 
What I found works good (you can see examples on my website of knives I've made) is to finish to 1500 grit, let's say, then dip in ferric chloride, then rinse and neutralize and follow up with very light wet sanding using the last grist you used. That was the type of finish I'd settled on with my knives and I was pretty happy with it.
 
It definitely got too close to the edge. Try moving the clay back a little more from the edge,too. The things you want to examine are:
Quench speed (Both oil speed and time from oven to tank)
Edge exposure (proper distance from edge on clay)
Over insulation of the spine (too much clay,thus retaining too much heat)
Insufficient heat or over heating (AKA "Three Bears Syndrome")
Stacy
 
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