Got some interesting quench effects here.

[Phillip Patton]

These are air hardening steels (D2, D5, 440c) and were plate quenched, with foil wrap.

Pretty cool, I think. I wish I could leave them on, but these are thicker than final thickness.

 

[fitzo]

The blue one looks almost like some paleolithic island art! Neat surface effects.

What type and brand of foil do you use, Phillip? Do you put anything in the packet for oxygen scavenging?

 

[J.S. Carter]

Those blades are stunning brother! especially the blue one the gray one to me looks like underwater coral... Wish you could leave em as is!

 

[Russ Andrews]

Very interesting reactions.....I used to get similar from
gases produced by paper in the foil pack for oxygen
elimination.

 

[Leu Custom]

I get those effects on A2 quite often. I think it has something to do with the fact that after the blade is sealed in the SS foil wrap that somehow the sides of the envelope are pressed against the blade during the heat treat. If the foil wrap is sealed perfectly with no oxygen getting in after the heat treat, the blades should come out the same color they went in, especially when plate quenching. Those patterns although they look cool, are rather a pain to buff off and you have to buff deeper into the steel and sometimes causes the grain in the A2 to be washed/buffed out to take out the ghostly pattern they leave behind.

 

[Whoever Wherever]

You should just regrind the bevels. Leave whatever part of the blade you can colored and see how they look. I always like Blades that had forge finish on the flats of the blade or when makers sand down the flats of an already etched damascus blade.

 

[SteelSlaver]

Looks like some great work. To bad you have to remove the effect. I would love to be able to predict and somewhat control that effect on my D2. Anyone have any ideas or ways to make it happen Jim