how to temper a srtaight razor in 1084? 350 F 1 hr x 2?

D

dylanbleier

Joined
Aug 3, 2014
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6
I'm working on my first straight razor; how should I temper it? also is the electronic kitchen thermometer / display more accurate than a standard bimetallic oven thermometer, or vice versa?

thanks,

Dylan
 
also will I need a 4000/8000 grit hone or for now can I get away with gluing sandpaper to a flat piece of wood/metal/glass/something?
 
How are you hardening the blade? Generally, I have read, the bimetallic oven thermometer is better. Place a pan of sand in the oven and heat to temperature, after quenching the blade place it into the sand. The sand will help keep the temperature of the blade near the temperature.
 
I would temper it at no less than 400 degrees F. Assuming it was fully hardened, your razor will be too hard if you temper at 350 F. I tried leaving a couple of razor blades harder than you would leave a knife blade, thinking it would give me longer edge holding. Instead, it just caused the edges to chip out every time I tried to hone them. I eventually wised up and re-tempered the razors at a higher temperature. That resolved the problem.

You might want to take a look at some info that Kevin Cashen has provide concerning 1084. Here are Kevin's heat treating specs for 1084, and some additional info on working with 1084. (By the way, the question marks in the article should actually be degree signs, but I assume some editing program couldn't cope with the symbols.)
 
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