Horse shoe rasp (old file)

[Jim R. Glines]

HI all, can anyone tell me, if I use a horse shoe rasp to make a blade, what is it best to harden it with? oil or water?

Thanks
Jim

 

[Tanguay Custom Knives]

After annealing and grinding out the blade shape, drilling pin holes, polishing, etc. I used warm (~120-130 deg) oil to do mine and it worked great. I tempered three times at 400 deg f.

 

[Jay Mulcahy]

I used warm vegatable oil on my rasp hawks, worked fine. Just forged a big chopper and did it the same way, seems fine.

 

[crex]

Warm oil. Most of the better grade farrier's rasp are 1096. Water is to harsh a quench. Nothing like the sound of 1096 cracking underwater.
Be aware that there are some imports out there that are casehardened and not good forge fodder. Stick with the known good ones: Nicholson, Heller, Safe Edge, Simmonds, Belloti