faint popping while attempting first hamon

ultrahesh

ultrahesh

Joined
May 24, 2008
Messages
745
today I attempted to do a hamon on a blade for the first time. When I quenched the blade I felt a faint popping transfer through the channel locks that i was holding the blade with. There was no sound, just vibration and it was very faint but I have never felt this before. Was this the blade cracking, or just something to expect because of the different quench rate where the clay was applied? Thanks for any replies.
 
I would inspect the blade very closely for cracks, sand down, etch and sand again. This should show any cracks that are present. The pop you felt could also have been the clay blowing off the blade in the quench too.
 
It's hard to say for sure, but it could be a crack.

The only way to know for sure is to clean up the lade and carefully inspect it.
 
Try hanging it and tapping and listening to the ring, or lack thereof, that may tell you a lot.
You can also dunk it and dry the surface and watch for water seeping out of a crack.
 
More info is needed, What steel? What temp? How long of a soak? What quench?
 
Pops, shudders, vibrations....all can be felt when a blade is quenched.

It would help to know :
The blade size, shape, thickness, and steel type
The quenchant
The heating source

"Channel locks" makes me think this is a fairly primitive system.
 
1095 steel, 5/32 thick, ground from 1 1/4" stock, bushcraft/hunter type blade shape. Heat in an even heat to 1550 for 12 minutes quenched in parks 50 @ 130 degrees
 
I hate to say this but just because some of us use "Channel Locks" does not mean we are "primitive" knifemakers.
I use then as well when pulling from my digital Evenheat oven to dunk in my quench tank.
I do not use 1095 but I sometimes do have a similar feeling with O1. I have yet to ever have a crack, which is probably due to the slower quench rate, but I also leave my oil hardening blades at about .035" to .040" at the edge for heat treat.
 
"Vibration" is probably vapor jacket collapse, just part of quenching. Of course, you should be "cutting" the blade through the oil as a means of agitation.

More important, Parks 50's working temperature range is 50F-120F. Heating Parks 50 is counter productive to hardening, and can cause flaming of the oil, and even shop fires.



John
 
I did not pay attention to cutting the oil once and waved it side to side. The blade cooled looking like a french curve.
 
Thanks John. I have been pre-heating my Parks 50. When treating more than one blade at a time the oil temp in a small tank like mine quickly rises above the effective range of the oil. No more pre-heating for me.
 
HUH..I thought Channel lock made him big time. I use Harbor Freight long needlenose:D

Stan
 
SBuzek said:
HUH..I thought Channel lock made him big time. I use Harbor Freight long needlenose:D

Stan
Click to expand...

Mine aren't channel lock brand, they're Stanley brand. Gotta save money where you can. Parks 50, kmg, and even heat are pricey items, even for being primitive
 
1550 is a bit high for 1095 from what I have read, and used myself. I have been using 1475 for 1095. I am using Maxim DT48 oil.
 
I was just concerned that the HT might have been done on a '57 Chevy spring, in a 2BF or a BBQ grill, and quenched in ice water. I see a lot of photos from guys with that type of equipment using channel locks.

Glad to see that your HT was well planned, and except for the too warm Parks #50 ( which would not cause the popping feeling), it seems just fine.

If the blade cleans up and is fine after close inspection, I would chalk it up to vapor jacket noise.
 
Willie71,

Thanks for noting the austenizing temp. I skipped over that. Anything over about 1475F for 1095 will put over .86 carbon into solution, which will come out in grain boundaries in the quench, giving a chippy edge.

Lotsa stuff to this biz,

John
 
Whoops! Missed that ,too. I saw the temp and was thinking 52100 ( the steel from the thread I was just reading). Yes, drop that to 1475. The extra heat could have accounted for more vapor jacket noise.
 
Thanks everyone for the help. I'll clean up the blade and hope for the best and I will make adjustments to my heat treat procedure.
 
Many many times I have felt the steel Scrunch under the oil....
When you hear "Ping" your in trouble
 
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