Google has failed me, 1084 hardening and tempering..

G

Gendry

Joined
Jul 19, 2014
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So first of all, I have researched this.. All I come up with is conflicting information, and different processes... I am not sure how to do this. This will be my first ever attempt at actually hardening, and tempering my 1084 steel, I'd like to get it right.

The general gist of what I have read, suggests I should heat it up to about 1500 degree's, just past magnetic, let it sit at that heat for a minute or two, then immediately quench in 100 degree oil to harden it.. From there, what I have read would lead me to believe that putting it into my oven for 2 hours, on 500 degree's, and then cooling under water would temper it properly... (However I have also read other methods, quite different from this...)

Does this sound like the right way to treat 1084 to you?

Basically, if somebody who works with 1084 and does their own heat treating could come in here and give me a run down on how it works, that would be great.

I should add, I know to only grind my bevels down to about the thickness of a dime before the treat, or I risk warping during the quench, is there any more to that I should know about? From there, I realize I cannot heat my steel again, so I make quick, light passes on the bench grinder to finish my edge, water cooling after every stroke... However, I still end up getting it so hot that it hurts to touch from time to time, is this ruining my temper?

Thanks.
 
I like taking it to non magnetic for a few minutes and then quenching in canola oil preheated to 125 degrees and then temper at 400-425 for 2 hours....twice.
 
After you take it out of the oven from the first "temper cycle", do you let it cool naturally, run it under water, immediately put it the oven for the second "cycle"?
 
I got this from Stacy and it works well for me:

Here is a basic HT regimen forn 1084:
1084 HT:
refine grain and normalize -
heat to 1500F and air cool to black, then quench to cool
heat to 1350F ( just non-magnetic) and air cool to black, then quench to cool
heat to 1200F ( still magnetic) and air cool to black, quench to cool
Straighten any warp or twist

Austenitize-
heat to 1500F and hold long enough to allow the blade to be evenly heated
quench in a fast quenchant (or as fast as you have, canola will work for all but big blades)
Check for warp after holding in the quench oil for 5-8 seconds. Straighten immediately. Stop after about 20-30 seconds, as the blade will be too cool and may break.

Temper immediately at 450F for two hours, twice. Quench in water to cool between temper cycles.
( If there is any warp after the blade cools, it can usually be straightened while at tempering temperature. Let it heat for 30 minutes before any straightening.)
Click to expand...

Also, I quench with Canola oil heated to 130° F.
 
Last edited:
Very nice. Thank you. I will try this exact (within a degree or six...can't measure exact tempts right now except magnetic or not, or "stop touching that NOOOW!".) method tomorrow to harden the knife I've been working on. I had some 10W30 motor oil I was going to use, because it was free, I heard it will serve, but if I get the chance to stop at safeway I will pick up some canola surely.

Though, the normalizing, I assume it was done before it was shipped to me, I seem to remember some type of statement to that effect on the site, not to mention the 1084 was SOFT when I got it and started to work with it, does this still need to be done to my finished knife "blank" when I go to treat it now?
 
Did you forge it or file/grind it? If forged, normalizing is good. If not, it wouldn't hurt.

Avoid motor oil. It is too slow for 10xx steels. Will it harden some in motor oil? Yes. Will it reach full potential? No. Use it if it's all you have, but a faster cooling oil will get you a longer cutting blade. Water will work too, but there are some issues with cracking, possibly.
 
1084 steel should be received ready to harden...no normalizing or cycling needed. I see you keep saying "magnetic"...let me help clarify. If you don't have a way of controlling temps accurately, or able to tell exactly what temp you are at, use the magnet. The magnet will stop sticking to the steel at around 1414F. This is NOT hot enough...it needs to be between 1475F and 1500F....1500F being best for 1084. So once the magnet stops sticking, you still need another 75 degrees or so. You'll need to judge that yourself with the Mark I eyeball. And yeah....forget about motor oil. Yuch.
 
One more thing...

Do it in the dark. You will see much more of what is going on in the steel and help you get it evenly treated.
 
What are you heat treating with- propane, charcoal, a torch. i only ask because each technique has its own tweeks and tips.

but yeah a minute or so above non-M
quench in 120 -135 degree oil
temper (depending on it's intended use)
 
rustyboy said:
What are you heat treating with- propane, charcoal, a torch. i only ask because each technique has its own tweeks and tips.

but yeah a minute or so above non-M
quench in 120 -135 degree oil
temper (depending on it's intended use)
Click to expand...

Hardwood charcoal forge
 
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