Thanks so much guys! I'll try to answer the fine questions you put forward.
Jim, it was tempered at 400F, and the "charts" for 115W8 say that results in 63. I'll put it to you this way.....it still skates a brand new fine cut USA Nicholson! AAMOF, most every HT I do on these low alloy carbon steels with a P50 quench, 400F tempers skate files. I have to go to 450 to get a file to begin to bite. I figure the file is 65HRC.
Warren, thank you so much, buddy. I myself....knives this size...and in the kitchen....I prefer the 2 pin look myself. Just a personal preference thing, but I have no issue/problem using 3. I just like the 2 pins.
I had a weird decarb issue with this steel, even with ATP 641. I use the same thin wash on all alloys, but because 3 times in a row I got decarb "clouds" with 115W8 (bevels cut before HT, so should not be decarb from the mill), I made a note to use a thicker layer of the anti scale/decarb stuff. Also....sanding out decarb "clouds" scattered in this steel......holy mama I don't enjoy that. It's not like there was a "layer" of decarb to remove....it was IN the hard matrix, just barely deep. All came out during post HT polish....thank goodness.
Slight auto-hamon, too. You certainly can't see it in pics, and BARELY in person, but it is right AT the spine, does not extend down onto the blade flats at all. Not a shallow hardening steel compared to 1095/W2, but this one needs a fast quench. Water quenches are done sometimes. I tried a water quench on a 115W8 petty with .020" edge, got a crack, so I won't try that again! P50 does plenty good.
The 1.2519 sister steel for this alloy has quite a bit more Mn, so is much deeper hardening. I don't know which I prefer. 115W8 does have 2 points of Tungsten, a bit more than 1.2519. Achim indicates the 115W8 makes for a tougher blade than 1.2519.
But seriously, that is a very nice little knife and it should slice like a mofo!!:thumbup:
