Hunter i just finished

KTNicholson

KTNicholson

Joined
May 14, 2013
Messages
22
I'm still pretty new to knifemaking, but here's a hunter i just finished. All feedback is welcomed. So what ya'll think?
 

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That looks like a great piece of work no matter if its your fifth or fiftieth ! My own preference is for a more narrow styled blade but this one looks plenty good . Frank
 
That is a very good looking knife. The only things I see that you might look at are lining up the pins on a straight line which is centered in the handle - the center pin looks like it is higher than the other two. The other thing you might consider is making the spine a fair curve from tip to butt. Just my opinion - do what you like.
Tim
 
PT Doc said:
What type of grind, steel and how was it heat treated? Looks very nice.
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It's 1095 full flat grind. Did the heat treat myself. Brought it to non-magnetic and let soak for about 5 minutes and quenched in motor oil. Tempered at 385 for 2 hrs. I'm still experimenting with different heat treatments. From the research I've done on here, there's plenty of theories on treating 1095, so I'm just goin down the list
 
PT Doc said:
What type of grind, steel and how was it heat treated? Looks very nice.
Click to expand...

It's 1095 full flat grind. Did the heat treat myself. Brought it to non-magnetic and let soak for about 5 minutes and quenched in motor oil. Tempered at 385 for 2 hrs. I'm still experimenting with different heat treatments. From the research I've done on here, there's plenty of theories on treating 1095, so I'm just goin down the list
 
KTNicholson said:
It's 1095 full flat grind. Did the heat treat myself. Brought it to non-magnetic and let soak for about 5 minutes and quenched in motor oil. Tempered at 385 for 2 hrs. I'm still experimenting with different heat treatments. From the research I've done on here, there's plenty of theories on treating 1095, so I'm just goin down the list
Click to expand...

First - Excellent looking knife.

Second, I don't know what you have been reading in your research, but 1095 has exactly one HT.....no theories needed.
It is to heat it to as close to 1475°F as possible and hold it there for 5-10 minutes. The quench needs to be a fast quench. Brine will work ,but broken blades are a risk, fast oil is the norm. Motor oil will not quench 1095 near fast enough.

The reasons for these two things is because of the makeup of 1095. It is a hyper-eutectoid steel. That big word means that it has more carbon than .84%. The excess carbon will make carbides if it has enough time to get into solution...thus the soak time. The excess carbon and the moderately low manganese in 1095 also makes it have what is called a "very narrow pearlite nose". This means it has almost no time to drop from 1475°F to below 1000°F...... less than 1 second to be exact.....or it becomes soft pearlite. Most oils take well over one second to make that drop. Fast oils, like Parks #50 and other fast oils, can drop the temp just fast enough to make the steel become hard, but gently enough to avoid breaking the blade in half. Water/brine are plenty fast enough, but can be harsh, leading to the dreaded "PING" when the blade cracks.

If one is to make good quality knife blades, they need two things....1) a good steel of known alloying, and 2) the right HT regime and quenchant to fit that steel. All other things you do in making the knife are to make it better looking or more useful for a specific task....but if the steel and the quenchant/HT aren't right, it won't matter.

As to using a magnet, it is an excellent guide to tell when the blade starts to change its structure, but the temperature you need to hold the blade at is about 50-75 degrees hotter than the Curie Point ( non-magnetic). The curie point for simple steel is 1414°F ( the actual temp for most blade steel is a few degrees higher). You want to hold the blade at a temperature about one shade of red hotter than the curie point.

Tempering is a two step process. The steel has to be tempered once, cooled to room temp ( just dunk it in water), and tempered again. Two hours each temper are the norm. For 1095, the temper should normally be done between 400° and 450°F. One reason you often see lower tempers use in online posts is that the HT they used was insufficient to fully harden the blade ( as yours probably was), thus the starting point was lower than a good HT will give. A double temper at 400°F for properly hardened 1095 will still be above Rc62. It doesn't drop to Rc 60 until nearly 500°F. I use 450°F for hunting/chopping blades, and 400°F for fillet/slicing knives.

Back to motor oil for a moment. You will see all sorts of post about using motor oil, ATF, etc. for quenching 1095......To be blunt, they won't work very well at all.
About the only readily available oil that will work for 1095 is canola oil. It gets pretty close to the pearlite nose speed. It won't match Parks #50, but will work fine for a home HT. I would temper a 1095 blade done in canola at 400°F.
 
Hey thanks, that's some really good info! I'll be sure to use the proper quench oil from now on. Right now the toughest part is controlling the heat because I don't have a heat treat oven. I've been using a map gas makeshift forge I slapped together. It definitely gets the blade cherry red, but holding a constant temperature is proving difficult. Any suggestions outside of purchasing an oven? Can't really afford one at the moment
 
Very nice and well done. I just started a new hunter last night. I am trying to do a small 2-2.5 inch blade so I can have more control. It really depends on the animal I am hunting. Very good job, I like the handle plus the blade shape is very universal. I am still trying to get better at handles and drilling as I do not have a drill press.
 
KT for holding temp its gonna be hard to do. Ive got a larger gas forge and its pretty stout so I can close off the front and it holds its temp for a while with the burner cut off.

You can use a steel tube or square to put the knife in while in the forge. Keeps temps a little more even.
 
With a MAPP gas small forge, you will be better off with 1084. It will get nearly the same hardness as 1095, and the HT is super simple. Once it is at 1450-1475F...quench it....no hold needed. Then temper at 400F.
1084 and 1095 are just about the same steel...with the 1095 having just a tad more carbon. The 1084 blade may need re-sharpening slightly sooner than the 1095 blade, but I bet that in use no one could tell them apart.

One thing people don't always remember is that in all steel, only the first .84% of the carbon gets tied up in the iron matrix as steel. The rest just makes carbides. So, a properly heat treated 1084 blade will almost always be better than a so-so heat treated 1095 blade.
 
bladsmth said:
With a MAPP gas small forge, you will be better off with 1084. It will get nearly the same hardness as 1095, and the HT is super simple. Once it is at 1450-1475F...quench it....no hold needed. Then temper at 400F.
1084 and 1095 are just about the same steel...with the 1095 having just a tad more carbon. The 1084 blade may need re-sharpening slightly sooner than the 1095 blade, but I bet that in use no one could tell them apart.

One thing people don't always remember is that in all steel, only the first .84% of the carbon gets tied up in the iron matrix as steel. The rest just makes carbides. So, a properly heat treated 1084 blade will almost always be better than a so-so heat treated 1095 blade.
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Just ordered some of Aldo's 1084. From now on my blades will have a proper heat treat. Thanks again for the great info. I'm sure it wont be the last time :)
 
KT, very nice knife, and curly maple is a favorite. Your gonna love Aldo's 1084, guarantee it.

Stacy, thanks for the 1095 info
 
Agreed that it looks like a great knife!

Your attitude toward new information is really nice too, always great to see people that just soak up constructive info! You know they'll go far :)
 
aarongough said:
Agreed that it looks like a great knife!

Your attitude toward new information is really nice too, always great to see people that just soak up constructive info! You know they'll go far :)
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Yeah I try to take in as much info as I can. Your videos have been a big help also. Lots of great stuff!
 
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