First HT on new oven

panch0

panch0

Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
3,415
I finally got all my supplies and nerve to try out the new Evenheat. Put a test blade in once the oven was at 1500. Then when it got back up to temp, I let it sit for about 5 minutes. I have McAster Carr 11 second quenching oil and some 1/8" 1084 btw. I dropped the edge and tip first in kind of a cutting motion for about 3-4 seconds the let the whole blade goi into the oil into the basket. I moved the basket from side to side to get the whole blade cooled off. I cleaned the carb and oil from it, and used one of those ht files that is blue and says it is at 60rc and it skated across the edge of the knife. I had the oil heated upto around 135 degrees. So how did I do? The blade is tempering at 425 for 2 hrs right now. I am wondering if I shoud do the temper twice, I know I have read that you do 2x so I will test the edge and see. Man now I need a hardness tester, among other things. I feel so grown up with these manly tools! This is great. Hehehe.....
 
I have tempered the knife at 425 degrees in my kitchen oven. it has a purpleish tint to the scale now. I file tested with the 60 rc file and it didn't cut into the edge yet. I am going to clean it up and put an edge on it to see if it rolls with the brass rod.
 
Frank,
Temper it twice. It has little to do with hardness. It has a lot to do with brittleness.
 
I watched e-bay and craigslist for hardness testers.

I picked up a broken bench model for $25 that required cleanup and about $75 in parts - seems to work great now!

I understand that the hardness may not be the whole story - how does the knife work for you?!?
 
I have been shaving two by fours with it. I also whacked some dry mesquite with it. It is a small wharnie so it was to test the edge not its chopping abilities. after whacking the wood about 15 times it still shaved. I also had a brass pin and there was no chipping or rolling. I also dropped it onto hard concrete from about 7' to see if it cracked, and it didn't. It seems to be doing well, but I would like to be able to test the hardness just to be more at ease with how the HT went in the future.
 
Congrats on the first heat treatment! It really is nice to know what your temps are and exactly how you are treating the steel.

I had a friend out to the shop the other day. He wanted to see what I do, and I started him making his own knife as well. Anyway, I had a knife in the shop that I forged from W2, but I'm not pleased with the handle. I plan on grinding off the handle and doing it over. This is actually the first knife I ever forged, so I want it done right, and my carved guard was simply pathetic. Anyway, before he left, I took that knife and put it through some work for him. I showed him how sharp it was to start, then I cut cardboard and hacked through a 2x4 I clamped in the vice. The look on his face was kind of skeptical, like, "really, why are you showing me this, and why are you ruining that perfectly good blade?"

So after chopping through the 2x4, I pulled up my sleeve and proceded to erase a good swath of hair from my arm with the part of the edge that just cut through the wood. It did not just crudely scrape it off, but it popped it off without a thought like a new razor would do. Not a nick or roll or chip from the edge...just good clean sharpness.

I know it made an impression on him, and it shows you what a knife of proper geometry can do when it's heat treated correctly.

I'd say test the dog out of that knife you've heat treated, and the performance and quality of the edge will tell you tons about your heat treatment.

--nathan
 
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