My first quench.

P.K.Hansen

P.K.Hansen

Joined
Aug 8, 1999
Messages
402
I just quenched my first two carbonsteel blades myself.
I used warm water as I'm going for a hamon on both.
Might be interesting as the blades are only around 2 inches long :D
If they are any good I'll post a few pics later this week - if not, this thread will quickly sink to the buttom and disappear ;)
Actually one is a carbon version of my avatar which is ATS 34.
 
You made this post, so now you HAVE to show us the goods! This thread aint going anywhere!
 
Argh..crap. :mad:
The first one has a small crack in the edge about one third from the ricasso. The other hasn't shown any - yet.
so the big question is, shall I finish it ? It's a small blade that'll only be used for small stuff cutting - no hacking down trees and such.
I'll most likely finish the blade, just to see wether there's a hamon or not, but is it worth a handle too ?
The crack is - as far as I can see - about 1/6 of the blades hight, or about 4-5 mm.
 
What steel were you using? I know a few makers who will use a very light oil quench over a water quench even in water quenching steels as it lowers the chance of cracking while still giving satisfactory hardening.

--Nathan
 
UHB17VA carbon steel
The hamon is there, though not as I hoped.
And during the etch, I've found a couple of new funny looking cracks.
Sure hope the other one is okay. This ones not worth more work.
 
My understanding is that water quenching steel are called such because it is the intent that they are quenched in water IF there is a large cross section. When doing a blade, with a very narrow cross section, stick with quenching oil, it will give you less headaches and a very nice blade.
 
The second one has a crack too, and those hairthin lines close to the tip :mad:
The hamon is just where I wanted it though.
I'll work a bit more on it and see if it can be used for anything.
 
A wise advisor once told me that I aught to finish such a blade anyhow. The cracks make for a good learning experience, and I needed to practice mounting the finished blades anyway.

This is especially true if the cracks won't be highly detrimental to the soundness of the blade under its actual use conditions.

Forging practice is forging practice, polishing practice is polishing practice, and handle making practice, well, you get the picture...
 
I use olive oil for most of my quenching, it's cheap relatively speaking, not too agressive, and doesn't flare up much. It sucks for air hardening steel though :D
I found that out quenching the first blade I actually forged, (found out later from the guy I got the bar from it was air hardening! no more mystery metal for my knives!) got a 3/8 inch crack in the edge running straight toward the spine. put the blade aside for 10 years, got sick of looking at it, stuck it in an antler crown section, now it is my favorite daily wear knife. It cuts like a bastard, fits my hand perfectly for normal everyday cutting tasks, holds an edge for an unreal amount of abuse, and hasn't snapped in 7 years of use. It may break tomorrow, it may break 10 years from now, but more people have wanted to buy that little defective knife from me than anything else I have ever made, and if I hadn't finished it out despite the crack I would never have had the enjoyment of such a fine(defective) tool. If the blades look like they can be usable give them a long temper to take stresses out, finish them out, don't put a lot of time or money into the finish, but make them something comfortable to use that you don't mind someone seeing you wearing and using, and use them till they break. Just do not use them for a situation where failure will endanger you or others.

-Page
 
I'll finish it with a pair of zebrano scales I've had forever, but never found a blade "poor" enough for. No bolsters and no fancy polish. Poor grindlines too :D
Now I've covered my butt, so I'll post a pic of the damage when I'm done.
 
Do yourself a flavor and pits them in the trash. Just considered the two a learning process. And start quenching your blades in oil just before temping the steel. And make sure you preheat the oil before quenching. I do not know what kind of steel you are using. But if its the 1095 or 1084 or 52100 preheat the oil about hundred 25 degrees. Hope this was of help to you. God bless and have a safe knife day. :thumbup:
 
I won't put much work into them, don't worry :D
They'll spend their life in my shop, cutting string, opening boxes, cutting leather and so on.
I've gone so far, a few hours more won't matter.
 
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