How do I harden a 1095 knife blank?

R

ryan7195

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Sep 5, 2012
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Hi, I've got a knife blank that I made from a nicholson file which I think is 1095 steel, I was wondering how I should re-harden and temper it. I don't have a forge or a knife oven or anything like that. I have made a couple of knives before that I just heated up to a non-magnetic state with a cutting torch and quenched in motor oil and they seemed to have come out alright(although one was warped a little), I might have just been lucky. This next knife I am making has turned out really nice so far and I don't want to ruin it, does anyone have any suggestions on how I should harden and quench it with what I have? Thanks, Ryan

Ps. Here is a pic of the knife
257359_278636578918026_1502615650_o.jpg
 
Ryan, if you don't have forge and electric oven, I think that the only way is to proceed with the equipment that you have. otherwise use an external laboratory. My two cent.
 
I agree with the above but I would recommend you "soak" it at slightly hotter than antimagnetic for at least 5 minutes and then quench it in Canola oil.
 
I remember making file knives. Was less than a year ago, if memory serves. I actually never did any heating to them, since I figured they'd be okay with the super hard HT from the file. Those all turned out okay, although I didn't do a whole lot with them outside of cutting paper and cardboard. You'll be really happy when you switch to PG stock from Aldo though. Unless you have a reliable source for files, it's actually cheaper just to buy PG 1095 from Aldo. I send all my blades to Darrin Sanders for heat treat. He runs a great heat treat service, and does a fantastic job. He's also given me lots of tips and help to get going. I got pretty wary of heat treating my 1095 at home because I'd heard that for a beginner, it's entirely possible to just shatter the blade, or otherwise completely ruin it. Especially considering it's a mystery steel.
 
Nicholson files have a good chance of being W1 or W2 as well. If the file wasn't annealed before you started and you haven't overheated it grinding, you might be better off just tempering it in a domestic oven at about 440/450 f for an hour or so.
 
The sticky on making a knife from a file has plenty of HT info. Have you read through it?
 
How did you anneal it? That process COULD work for HT as well and then temper in the kitchen oven...

Like Stacy said, read the sticky, it has LOTS of info...
 
I annealed it by leaving it in hot campfire coals over night, it made it soft enough to grind. Then I ground out the general shape with a bench grinder(which got it really hot). After that I used the belt sander to finish the shape.
 
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