guess ill stick to oil on 1095!

[herlihy433@yahoo.com]

today i tried water hardning 1095 and it was a bastard,out of 3 blades 3 were cracked.i tried to do a hamon and that blade cracked as well but got good results with the hamon line.i know,what good is a hamon line if the blade cracked?well it was my first hamon and i was excited to see how well the contrast of hardness on the blade came out.next im going to try a hamon with olive oil and hopfully i will have better results with the cracking issues.please leave any suggestions on how to get good hamon lines,im interested in hearing diffrent techniques.....sean

 

[Patrickknives]

Change to oil !!! Water will crack unless the blade is perfect, that is what I found. Use a lightweight oil and get from the oven to the oil quickly.

I use a deep tray and put a steel rack in the bottom where I set by blade just deep enough to treat the edge and let it set.

 

[herlihy433@yahoo.com]

thanks bro i try it....sean

 

[Bruce Bump]

I bought some Parks #50 for 1095 steel. Its thin and fast but doesnt crack a blade. Kinda spendy but not as much as your time and ruined blades.