Heat Treat Oven Questions

[s500yards]

Hey folks! Just purchased one of the KF-13.5 ovens from Evenheat. Should be here in a couple weeks and had a few questions regarding the heat treat of oil quenching steels. O1 in particular to start as that is what I have on hand. Thanks in advance for any help

1. What anti-scale compound would you all recommend, and is it necessary for O1? I've seen the liquid and powder versions. Seen guys apply it to cool steel, and some to 450 degree steel.

2. In the rack, I've read to place them edge down. Any thoughts on that? Any rack systems you all would recommend?

3. And one of my biggest concerns...If I'm treating say 6 knives at once, how do you safely and efficiently get them all to the quench oil without letting the last few cool down too much?

Thanks again for any help. I'm very excited about the new equipment! Have a great week, all!

-Steven

 

[P.Brewster]

3. And one of my biggest concerns...If I'm treating say 6 knives at once, how do you safely and efficiently get them all to the quench oil without letting the last few cool down too much?

This is a non-issue. Open the door, grab a knife, close the door, quench. Stacy gave me an explanation regarding this a few years ago; I don't recall the tech details, but essentially it is OK for the steel temp to drop slightly below critical. You can see this by looking at a TTT chart - the magic doesn't begin until you get down to about 1380°.

To be extra safe, you can simply wait until the oven temp rises back to your set value before grabbing the next knife.

 

[jdm61]

I go edge up and use the liquid anti-scale.

 

[Josh Mason]

I do most of my work in batches. When it's time to quench, don't get in too much of a hurry or fuss about it. Just grab one blade and shut the oven door on your others. Just do this until they're all quenched. I usually wait for my oven to ramp up to my set temp before grabbing another blade. O-1 likes a long soak anyway, so take your time.

As far as anti scale, I grind all my knives hard, so I just grind it off. I sometimes like a scale finish on the flats anyway for a rustic look.

 

[s500yards]

I do most of my work in batches. When it's time to quench, don't get in too much of a hurry or fuss about it. Just grab one blade and shut the oven door on your others. Just do this until they're all quenched. I usually wait for my oven to ramp up to my set temp before grabbing another blade. O-1 likes a long soak anyway, so take your time.

As far as anti scale, I grind all my knives hard, so I just grind it off. I sometimes like a scale finish on the flats anyway for a rustic look.

So as far as performance of the knife, using or not using the compound should not make much of a difference?

 

[Josh Mason]

So as far as performance of the knife, using or not using the compound should not make much of a difference?

Not really. That stuff is just to keep your blades clean and free of scale. I don't use it, and it's not really necessary. I'm sure it's nice to use, but again, not necessary. Alot of guys don't bother with it. I just grind that crap off anyway.