heat treatment

[royboy]

what is the easiest steel to heat treat at home for a newcomer.something that can be quenched at home.tempered in the oven. any help would be great. royboy.

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[Don Cowles]

Roy-

O1 is your best bet. It is available everywhere in precision ground form, inexpensive, and can be heat treated by heating it to non-magnetic with a torch and quenching in oil. Temper in the kitchen oven as soon as it cools enough to handle it (which means you have to have the oven pre-heated!). In addition to all that, it makes a very fine knife blade.

 

[Danbo]

I agree. There are more high tech alloys out there, but nobody has ever complained about how well O1 takes and holds an edge. Properly heat treated, O1 makes a cuttin sumbitch!

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Danbo, soul brother of Rambo

 

[Jeff Clark]

If you are making large blades and want to save money while you learn 5160 is a good choice.

 

[Chiro75]

I have been using 1084 with good success for a relatively primitive setup. 1084, 1095, 5160 and O1 are all doable at home. I can share my recipe for heat treating 1084 if you decide to use it...

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Steve Agocs, D.C.
http://www.geocities.com/Chiro75/frames.html


agocs_s@hotmail.com