Newbie question. Vermiculite?

A

ansio

Joined
Jul 9, 2013
Messages
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I am about to start my first blade. I wanted to get and write all my steps down before I start so I will be good to go from start to finish without having to find more information in the middle.

I read somewhere that you should put your blade (1084) into vermiculite at some point. I can not seem to find that article/video anymore.

Do you kow the process I am asking about? I am looking for the steps, or where it fit in the process.

Do you heat and quench then into vermiculite or do you heat and then skip the quench and straight into vermiculite? Or is it something else completely?

I feel like it might have been before you shape the blade even.

Thanks for any input/direction.
 
Last edited:
Vermiculite is a quick and easy way to partially anneal (or soften) the steel which can make grinding/drilling easier.
 
The slow cool of vermiculite is done to anneal the blade after forging and normalizing. If you are doing stock removal, you dont need to worry about vermiculite. The steel should come ready to harden as received. (Should being the operative word).
 
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