This site has been a remarkable resource for me as a new knife maker. I must confess to spending a great deal of time studying and trying to learn as much as possible from the cumulative experience of all of you out there. I would like to start by extending a "thank you" to all who are responsible for the upkeep of this site.
This is my first post. Why now? Well...for the most part I have been making knives for about a year and manage to make a new one every couple of weeks. I have been slowly accumulating tools and in the past have used a small forge to heat treat my blades. I have made all of my blades out of o1. I know that you experienced knife makers are probably going to cringe at that statement recognizing the need for a more controlled soak time and precise temperature regulation than what is afforded by a simple forge for o1. For the most part my crude and less than analytical methods for bringing the o1 up to critical and then soaking it must have somehow worked because the knives I made have definitely had a practical utility and have held up reasonably under practical conditions. I recognize, however, that such crude methods of heat treating are subject to inconsistencies in reproducibility as well as performance. So after months of making knives and being haunted by the posts of you experienced knifemakers like Mr. Cashen I decided that I was going to purchase a knife kiln. I have a Paragon KM24D with 2350 F elements.
My question centers upon quenching. This is the one weak link in my heat treating process. While I am happy to say I can ramp up to critical and hold within a few degrees for a 15 minute soak I am falling short of optimum (or at least I think I am) when it comes to quenching. I quenched the first blade I made of o1(from the new kiln) in Canola oil which I brought to about 150F. I have read posts of using Canola on other less technical steels. So my questions are as follows:
Is it ok to use on Canola on o1?
Does o1 require a medium or fast oil?
I have read many posts on commercial quenchants which I will one day purchase. Any suggestions specific to o1?
Commercial quenchants seem difficult to find. Is there a suitable substitute that I could purchase in a more "generic" type of store?
I have searched much of the forum attempting to get these questions answered specific to 01 steel....if i have missed a thread that answers these questions I apologize. Kindly direct me toward it.
Thanks
Gary
This is my first post. Why now? Well...for the most part I have been making knives for about a year and manage to make a new one every couple of weeks. I have been slowly accumulating tools and in the past have used a small forge to heat treat my blades. I have made all of my blades out of o1. I know that you experienced knife makers are probably going to cringe at that statement recognizing the need for a more controlled soak time and precise temperature regulation than what is afforded by a simple forge for o1. For the most part my crude and less than analytical methods for bringing the o1 up to critical and then soaking it must have somehow worked because the knives I made have definitely had a practical utility and have held up reasonably under practical conditions. I recognize, however, that such crude methods of heat treating are subject to inconsistencies in reproducibility as well as performance. So after months of making knives and being haunted by the posts of you experienced knifemakers like Mr. Cashen I decided that I was going to purchase a knife kiln. I have a Paragon KM24D with 2350 F elements.
My question centers upon quenching. This is the one weak link in my heat treating process. While I am happy to say I can ramp up to critical and hold within a few degrees for a 15 minute soak I am falling short of optimum (or at least I think I am) when it comes to quenching. I quenched the first blade I made of o1(from the new kiln) in Canola oil which I brought to about 150F. I have read posts of using Canola on other less technical steels. So my questions are as follows:
Is it ok to use on Canola on o1?
Does o1 require a medium or fast oil?
I have read many posts on commercial quenchants which I will one day purchase. Any suggestions specific to o1?
Commercial quenchants seem difficult to find. Is there a suitable substitute that I could purchase in a more "generic" type of store?
I have searched much of the forum attempting to get these questions answered specific to 01 steel....if i have missed a thread that answers these questions I apologize. Kindly direct me toward it.
Thanks
Gary
