heat treat trouble

R

rongow

Joined
Dec 3, 2015
Messages
4
Hello all I am new to knife making. I have a even heat oven placing 1080 in cold ramping up to 1500 and checking for being non magnetic then quenching. The blade area snaps pretty easy but the tang not getting hard it just bends. Could this be because the steel is from admiral steel? I have read people have had problems with this steel. The oven is new oil is peanut. Could use soom help thanks.
 
Whatever you're holding the knife with may be pulling
the heat from the tang before you get it quenched.....has
nothing to do with where you bought it.
 
Thanks I'm holding it with very long needle nose pliers don't think that's pulling much heat out. I also let blade cool to touch then dropped on garage floor did not brake.
 
If the blade is getting hard, and the tang isn't....there's a problem with the heat/quench technique,
not the steel itself....Can you describe your process in detail..?
 
Sure I load oven cold ramp to 1500 hold 5 min pull check with magnet quench straight in oil move back and forth for about 15 seconds remove let cool to touch.
 
Putting the blade in a cold oven, and ramping to 1500f isn't the best way to
heat your blade. the blade will be above critical (nonmagnetic) for at least
10-15 minutes before reaching proper quenching temp......then the oven will
almost certainly overshoot the set temp (and overheat the blade) before stabilizing
at set temp.
Let the oven stabilize at set temp before placing the blade inside. Allow about 10 minutes
(more...for larger blades) for the blade to reach temp, then count soak time.
To quench......get the whole blade and tang into the oil while the piece is at temp....and quench
to the oil temp....then withdraw...clean and temper.

Also.....the magnet is misleading....only tells you if blade is above critical temp....usually
75f or so below correct quenching temp.
 
Last edited:
If your oven says the blade is at 1500F, there is no need to check with a magnet. I suspect that the tongs are sucking the tang well below the blade temperature as you check with the magnet. Just pull the blade and immediately quench the blade and tang fully below the oil. Also, make sure you have enough oil. I would say about two gallons of peanut oil, warmed to 120-130F, should be good. You should have three inches of oil around the blade during quench, so the tank should be at least six inches wide. A 6" by 24" quench tank takes three gallons of oil. This is a very good size for most shops.
 
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