Help! 1084 Knife Warped!

Mudbug007

Mudbug007

Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Messages
1,320
Just got done HT'ing my Newbie KITH blade, cleaned it off and stuck it in the oven. Should have looked at it, but it just slipped my mind. Took it out after 1 hour and OMG :eek:, IT WARPED!

I'm not sure why either, although I did have to do a lot of carving...um...I mean... grinding to get the flats close to even. During quench, I moved the blade up and down as suggested by many people.

So I guess my question is, can this blade be HT'ed again and straightened, or is it destined for the scrap pile?

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Do not fret, 1084 is really forgiving. you can try to put it in a pin jig in a vice and straighten it, although i think you will snap it unless you temper it first. I would just anneal it, straighten it and try again.
 
Try to straighten it. You will either snap it or straighten it. OR Re-heat treat... but I bet it does the same thing again.
 
I've had that happen before. Rick Marchand had a really helpful thread with his method of straightening during temper. Used it several times and it's worked all but once when I got a wave warp on an edge I'd ground too thin and unevenly.

If you do decide to re-HT it, make sure you do some stress relief/thermal cycling beforehand.
 
Did you put it in a rack to hold it vertical in the kiln? I would be willing to bet you laid it flat on the floor. Heat it to a dull glow and flatten it out, normalize it, then make a rack out of stainless steel that will hold it off the floor of the kiln edge up straight up and down, and re heat treat it

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I'd do the clamp and temper trick before I'd re-heat treat it. Clamp it to a piece of bar stock or a file. Use some spacers to get it a little past straight (bent in the opposite direction of the warp). Throw it in the oven during one of your temper cycles. After the cycle, check the straigtness. Repeat as many times as it takes. I can usually get it straight in one or two tries.
 
Thanks for the help guys!

I guess I should have added that I did normalize 3 times before the quench. I use a paint can forge for HT and MAP Gas. These are the first blades I've had warp.

I also differentially HT'd the blade using Satanite.

I'll try the pins/washer trick and then temper again. If that doesn't do it, I'll try HT one more time to see what happens.
 
Try the clamp and temper trick for the second temper cycle.
Then, clamp the blade part at the ricasso in a vise. Use a torch to take the tang to a barely visible dull red. Let cool for a minute until all color is gone and immediately quench in water. Straighten the blade on the anvil with a brass or wooden mallet. It should be fine.

You haven't had anything happen to your blade that doesn't happen all the time. I usually just straighten it on a wooden "anvil" - AKA 6X6 board, with a brass hammer or a wooden mallet. You can do it on the regular anvil,too.
 
Don't try to straighten a hardened blade at less than 400 F. If you do a lot of drilling etc before HT you should stress relieve at about 1100-1200 F .
 
Mudbug007 said:
Thanks for the help guys!

I guess I should have added that I did normalize 3 times before the quench. I use a paint can forge for HT and MAP Gas. These are the first blades I've had warp.

I also differentially HT'd the blade using Satanite.



I'll try the pins/washer trick and then temper again. If that doesn't do it, I'll try HT one more time to see what happens.
Click to expand...

Over heating and or uneven heating is usually the cause of warping. It takes a lot of practice to hit the right temps with a forge and a tinny forge like you're using is even more difficult. It's easier to get an even heat with a large forge. Also normalizing does little good, if the temps are too high.

Clay does little on 1084 because of the high manganese, it is more deep hardening that most believe. If the clay did it's job, you should be able to straighten that blade easily.
 
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I took Bladsmith's suggestion and heated the tang up and straightened it. It was a little twisted as well and I took that out as well. Then I noticed that it was a little warped about 3/4 toward the tip. I used pins to get that out somewhat. The lower half was still a little out and a little twisted. I worked with it a while and got it pretty close, but still not as good as I wanted. So I've decided to scrap it (keep it around for a pattern or what not) and start over. I wanted my Newbie KITH to be the best I could make but this isn't it.

I believe I can still get it done, if not, then I have some other blades that are already hardened (and not warped!!) that I can use. I just wanted to use this one as I had some ideas of how I wanted it to look.

Thanks again, this knife gave me fits all the way from the cutting out of the blade. It was supposed to be a drop point hunter, but as you see, it didn't end up that way. Then I had a heck of a time trying to keep my grinds even....and so on.
 
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