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bacustomknives

bacustomknives

FULL THROTTLE / FULLTIME KNIFE MAKER
Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Messages
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Here in the last 2 weeks i have had to trash 5 blades due to micro fractures on the blade edge, ive made knives for years not having this problem,i cracked 1 blade one time being stupid and quenching in straight water,felt like it was gonna explode,but that was my whole reason of doing it,to see the outcome,latley it has all been 1/8" 1095 stock, im not doing anything diffrent than i would normally do, i nomalize 4 times,remove scaling,then grind,& quench,my oil temp is right on and everything,its been like 4 below here for last week or so,think its the cold doing it? The steel?it is a new batch? Hell idk, guys got any ansewers or suggestions?
Thanks bill
 
My first suspicion was the steel. Did you start using a different batch of 1095 about the same as the cracking started? Did you normalize a whole batch of pieces at once, and all of the cracked blades were in this batch? Maybe something went wrong in one of your thermal cycles.
IDK either.
 
Salem, it is a new batch of aldos steel, i normalized them all one by one in the forge like i always do,yesterday i done 6 blades three made it out alive and well ,after grinding and the quench,then there were 3 that were cracked, 1 with 1 single fracture and 2 with multiples, i was thinking it was the steel aswell,but i didnt wanna mention were it came from,i dont need him as an enemy,he is a great guy and my main source for steel
 
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My instincts tell me that it's not because you are doing anything different, but because of the steel. Not in the way that the steel you got from Aldo has anything wrong with...likely very much the opposite.
For a few years now I have not used 1095, and when others ask me about it I generally ward them away from it. The reason? Recent (last 5 years or so) changes within the industry have made 1095 unreliable from batch to batch, causing many issues for knifemakers.
Knowing Aldo, I suspect the steel you got from him is VERY high quality "true" 1095, and and if you've been using the stuff from other sources, the causes are because the other steels were just "standard enough" that you got by.
 
ED,
i been using aldos for awhile now never had a problem,you are right it is better steel, i have been using his 5/32" outta this batch and havent had not a problem????
 
Another theory- what if through some mishap the steel was mis-labeled or otherwise mixed up with another alloy? Then your standard HT for 1095 could perhaps cause cracking. This might be something that happened either on the supplier's or your end... what other sorts of steel do you have in your hoard?
 
Ed is right. Unfortunately quality has gone down especially for steels like 1095.There have been a good number of complaints about the simpler knife steels.
 
Salem Straub said:
Another theory- what if through some mishap the steel was mis-labeled or otherwise mixed up with another alloy? Then your standard HT for 1095 could perhaps cause cracking. This might be something that happened either on the supplier's or your end... what other sorts of steel do you have in your hoard?
Click to expand...


Salem,
the only steel i have at this point in time is 5/32 & 1/8" 1095, so no mix up here, aldo emailed me just got in last night ,so i give hime a call see what he thinks
 
Are these forged? Why normalize 4 times (or is this your thermal cycling with progressively lower heats)? Do you perform a stress relief cycle before heat treating? I wonder if your machining is adding in stress that is unaccounted for/uncorrected, and in a quality batch of 1095 that hardens like it's suppose to, it is causing your issues? The thicker 1095 from the same batch has more mass to maintain its integrity and prevent stress cracks prior to your temper, whereas the thinner 1095 is going to be more susceptable.

--nathan
 
It is my thermal cycling with progressively lower heats, i think i may have been grinding my edges to thin,a possability but , it has never happened before, im trying leaving them a little thicker on this batch to see the outcome, hopefully thats what it is,just seemed like i felt like alot more aggitation when they hit the quench this time aswell i could feel it threw a 22" pair of tongs, we'll see shortly
 
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