HEAT TREATING AXES-DO It YIOURSELF.

R

Ripshin Lumberjack

Joined
Sep 17, 2014
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120
Hi Everyone

Please go to a new posting of NOT A GREAT DEBUT FOR NEW COUNCIL TOOL WOOD-CRAFT AXE. I replied to this post
and hope that my relpy can help someone.

I give instructions on how to DIY harden and tempering your axes. I can't gurantee your results but, it has worked for me.

ripshin
 
No, I have not. If you have experience with these two methods, I sure would like to know what your experience is. I've used water the way my great uncles taught me 50 years ago.

I saw a video on axes being made in Maine and the factory used salt water. Please tell me about your experiences with the two methods you mentioned.

ripshin
 
You mean this?

Ripshin Lumberjack said:
You can use your charcoal grill. (1)Bring the embers to a glowing red lite color. Put the axe in the embers and and wait for the proper lite red color. Now, submerge the head in water and move the head up and down until you have cooled the head rapidly for it to harden. Here is how I do it. I have a set of blacksmith thongs that I insert with and remove the axe head from the lite red glowing charcoal. You have a bucket/container of water and have it filled to where you can dip/quench the head 1-1 1/4 inches. Dip the blade to 1-1/4 to 1 1/2 inches and count to one thousand one, one thousand two and remove out of the water for one thousand one and then repeat this process for 7 times and then just leave the metal submerged until the entire edge has cooled. This method helps prevent the metal from cracking from the water quench. The metal is now too hard and brittle and will break and burst if we do not temper it. OOOHHHH, BY THE WAY! By using a magnet when the ax head is the proper color,you can be absolutely certain the metal is hot enough when the magnet does not stick to the ax head before we harden the metal. Now, set the head in a safe place with the cutting edge down and let the ax cool down so that you can touch it.

(2) Step 2--TEMPERING--soften the metal. Tempering begins at 350 degrees Farienheit. My method is to heat my range oven to 385 degrees farienheit and put the ax head in for one hour. I use a oven thermometer to get good results. Remove the ax head and then quench the head by submerging the ax head in water for 7 seconds. This stops the tempering and all is now done except cleaning up the ax by by grinding the ax head and treating for rust. This should result in RC hardness of 54-57( depending on the carbon content of the metal). With Council Tool 5160 you should have around -57+ RC. Set the ax aside with the cutting edge turned down until well cooled. I prefer a 2" heated treated edge.

Oil quenching is popular BUT results in sometimes too soft RC for my purposes. BUT RC 54-55 is pretty darned good.

This is something I have performed on many axes over the past 50 years. I have a old ovel shaped crock pot that I do my tempering in.
This allows me to insert a steel rebar section bent at a 90 degree angle through the ax eye and dip to the proper depth and just leave the ax heads hardned cutting and tempered edge hanging in the water untill the axe has throughly cooled.

After I read through all of the questions and answeres on BladeForums, I am always happy with the all of new gratifying knowledge that
I gain from being a member here.

ripshin
Click to expand...

That''ll about do it, your method sounds very good. I was just thinking, there are lots of variables in quenching & tempering. First is the carbon content and any alloying elements, then there is relative mass and shape. A thin blade is more delicate than a chunk as thick as a Japanese style anvil. I recently just last week quenched a rail anvil in ice water, no tempering. I never heard it ping, and I can see no cracks. Time will tell as it gets put to use. I suspect it will not crack under nominal use, but there is always a chance. :cool: We shall see.
 
The salt water quench is something I read about in an army manual, suppose to make the metal harder, I have no experience with it. The oil on top of water quench is supposed to add carbon from the oil and as you dip the metal deeper in to the water the water quenches it. Only tried it once but was using mild steel and can't really say one way or another if it made it any harder
 
Beachlogger said:
The oil on top of water quench is supposed to add carbon from the oil and as you dip the metal deeper in to the water the water quenches it. Only tried it once but was using mild steel and can't really say one way or another if it made it any harder
Click to expand...

This doesn't sound right. Any type of oil quench is simply to give a slightly slower quench, not add carbon to the steel. I can only imagine that the method described is supposed to provide some differential in quench speed, but in practice I can't see the point. If someone wanted to quench more slowly and then faster, I would use two buckets I think. Maybe the idea here is to avoid pulling hot steel from oil and risking a flare up, but I wouldn't use either method. For this application, I would just pick the appropriate quenching liquid and leave it at that. For axe heads, I would say that it would be water.
 
For the most part, Oil on water is BS.
Of course a tiny degree of difference depending on the thickness of the 2 layers & amount of time the workpiece remains in oil before passing thru to water. Oil quench does not add carbon.

The whole purpose of quench is take the steel below critical temperature in a prescribed time. Different steels require faster or slower quench times depending on desired finished properties. Typically faster quench means harder result.
Water quenches faster than oil, Saltwater quenches faster than plain water.
 
I always thought saltwater quenched slower than water and faster than oil. And I was wrong :). Thanks for that.

As for any quenchant adding carbon to a blade - that won't happen; itis a myth just like that "quenching" into sugar was supposed to add carbon. One can merely avoid decarburization by various methonds.
 
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