Harden The Tang?

Z

zurcher

Joined
Aug 27, 2006
Messages
3
Hi,
I'm new to knifemaking and to this forum. so I'm sure this will be a stupid question. I want to make a couple of full-tang knives. I'm using flat bar stock obtained from Koval's several years ago. It's 1095 steel, and I'm sure it's annealed as I have been able to grind, file, and otherwise shape it.
Now for the heat treating. I'm using a one-brick forge with a propane bernzomatic. I've been successful at reaching non-magnetic on the blade itself, but on a 9" or 10" knife, I'm having problems reaching non-magnetic over the whole length of the knife, that is, over the blade and tang both. If I try to bring the blade up to temp and then move on to the tang, by the time I move back to the blade, it has cooled too much. If I reheat it and move back to the tang, it has cooled.
I guess my question is whether it's absolutely necessary to harden the tang as well as the blade?
Thanks for any help anyone can give. zurcher
 
No not necessary to harden the tang. Infact I would leave the tang and not harden it at all or to a lesser hardness than the blade.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

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1095 has a very sharp quench curve. You will have a hard time with a one brick forge - getting the blade to the right temp,and holding it there for a couple of minutes (without overheating some areas),and getting it into a fast quench medium in a very short time.The tang is no concern,as long as the first inch of it gets hardened to some extent.I think your knife is too big for such a simple forge.Time to make a bigger one.
Stacy
 
If you have trouble getting the temperature; you might buy a cylinder of MAPP gas. It will opperate in your benzomatic and it will give you a couple hundred more degrees It is less than $10 a cylinder...Take Care...Ed
 
If you have room in your forge put a piece of pipe in there, or a piece of thin walled tube, to keep the knife out of the blast from your burner. You'll get a more even heat once the tube has come up to heat.

Be very quick getting the piece into the quench.
 
bladsmth, Ed, R. Coon,
Thanks for taking the time to reply, and for your advice. Looks like it's back to the drawing board for me. My plan at this time, thanks to your help, is to try the liner inside the forge, try MAPP gas, then, as time and money permit, to upgrade the forge to one that's bigger, with a bigger, more reliable burner.
Thanks again guys.
 
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