first knife tempering question

C

chemistguy

Joined
May 28, 2013
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308
I finally got my 1084 to harden from the quench and take an acceptable edge. Then when I tempered it, I set the toaster oven to 400 ºF and my blade came out dark blue and the handle was straw. So, I figure that the blade got to 540 ºF and is now 54 HRC (which is pretty low, eh?). Is this correct or no?

However, the blade is shaving sharp! The temper actually seemed to make it take a much better edge... am I crazy or is this possible?? I think I am just going to finish the knife rather than frustrate myself and probably fail by trying to quench and temper all over again. Not worth it.

I also think the quench could have been better if the canola oil was hotter to start. Is this true? Should I get a heater coil or something for the canola oil? I estimate it was around 100-120 ºF when I quenched but should have been at 150+ ºF, right?
 
The temper colors that you are referring to are (I've read) oxides that form during forge tempering. Colors out of the oven can be quite a bit different. So, trust your oven thermometer more than the color.
 
As Bo said, the colors mean nothing after an hour in the oven. A good thermometer and testing the edge is what tells you about the tempering.
 
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