Heat treating 01 with coal

blgoode

blgoode

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Messages
7,145
Well, I have a small grill that is a little larger than my overall knife length. Do I need two layers of coal, even so as not to warp steel, then pack more on top and blow with a shop vac? Also how long should this take to acheive tempature?

About 45 min for coals to be right then how long (estimate) for the steel to reach temperature?

Quench in vegatable oil at 140 degrees?

Never done this before so i am trying to trouble shoot now. Thanks guys.
 
Well...I would first start by doing this at dusk or in a dark area so you can keep an eye on the color....and dont go by color alone. Have a heavy magnet nearby to test the blade. I have a pickup magnet clamped in some vicegrips that I use. Once the blade becomes uniformly non- magnetic....it is ready to quench.

I would take piece of scrap steel and bring it up good and red then quench it in your oil and this will put your quench at the right temp.

I would heat the blade in the coals edge down but keep shifting it so it stays uniform in heat and color. Once the edge or at least halfway up the blade becomes non-magnetic....quench it in the oil about 1/2 top 2/3's the way up the blade...starting with the tip then rocking it quickly to the edge. Let the color disappear out of the spine. Let the blade cool to about 150F and then temper 2 or three times at 400 to 420F and you should have a great knife.
 
wow! This si what I needed. Thanks so much. I'll let you guys know how it went.
 
Glad to help....let me know how it goes.

You can use automatic tranny fluid in place of the Crisco too. Just make sure that with both that you preheat the oil like I said.

It is a good idea to get your oven up to 400F before you start the hardening because with O1 you are better off to "snap" temper and do this by not letting the blade go much below 150F after hardening. This temp (150F) is still a little too hot to hold by hand.

Also...I wanted to clarify that when u quench....go with the tip first and then "lever" the edge into the oil...but do it rather quickly but gently. Be prepared for a flame up too....so have something to cover your tank. Dont fully dunk the blade until the spine goes gray. Also, after a few seconds in the quench, kinda "saw" the blade forward and backwards in the oil....but not side to side.
 
That helps alot!! How much oil do I need? I was thinking of using a cake pan on my gas grill burner to get to 150 degrees. How deep do I need to be as far as the oil amount in the pan?
 
I don't know about using a shop vac as a blower old buddy. That's alot of air and it would tend to concentrate the heat on one side but I can't quite decide which side that would be if you see what I mean. Maybe a hair dryer set to blow cool air would work better and give you more precise control. If you have a welding/cutting torch setup that would work better in my opinion. And when you say 'coal' do you mean blacksmith coal or charcoal like for grilling? Big difference. I would definately do a dry run on some scrap steel (like XRAYED said) to see how it goes before trying the heat treat on that blade. Good luck and have fun.
 
I have charcoal. Dont have a torch set up I can use at home. Maybe I should send blade out to HT???
 
Nosiree Bob! Give her a try, but first do the dry run with the scrap piece. You might want to grind it into a rough likeness of your blade first to make it as realistic as possible. I wasn't trying to discourage you with my comments. I was just trying to help you with the basics of what you're working with and get you to thinking about your process. So don't give up before trying. Just think abuot what you're doing and go slow. I'll tell you the truth, I forge with coal and rarely do my heat treating in the smithy using coal. I learned how to heat treat with a torch rig using a rosebud tip and I get such good, repeatable results I've just stuck with it. I know I have the ability to heat treat using coal but I haven't figured out how to control the heat for consistent, reliable results yet. This is just part of your learning curve and I would take full advantage of it if I were you. Things you learn this way have a tendency to stick with you for a while. Besides, if you miss the heat treat using your equipment it's really not a big deal as long as you don't burn the steel. After giving it a try yourself, if you fail, then send it out for heat treat. That way, it's a win win situation all the way around and at least you gave it a shot. Have fun and I hope you nail that heat treat the first time!
 
Hey...my confidence is back up. I have a piece of scap. I have a tendance to just dive in and try it.......hell I am not much of a woodworker but managed to build an electric guitar out of cocabola, maple, and poplar, so who knows?? I will try the hairdryer instead of the shop vac. Maybe I can hold the shop vac back a ways to reduce the strength. If it fails I'll send it to bear.
 
Can I get a tip for a propane tank to heat with?
 
No. In my experience, propane won't get hot enough to bring the steel to non-magnetic for a proper quench. Mapp gas might but I've never tried it. But keep thinking dude. That's what helps you learn as you think through your process. Keep after it and sooner or later you'll find success.
 
damn....no easy way...I'll just have to sweat over the coals ;)
 
My first attempt at heat treating with household items went well considering.

I use one of the bayou classic burners. I think it's 100 thousand BTU. I stacked some fire bricks into a little house on top of the burner and cranked it up. It got 1095 up to an even non-magnetic heat. It took a little time but it worked.

Mark
 
I may send this first blade off and try it myself with a smaller one...... this one is 13" overall.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top