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Oil hardening Stainless?
- Thread starter trentu
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2004
- Messages
- 9,439
Stainless can be oil hardened. I've oil harden 154CM in the past. The problem is massive flame up and possible warpage. If you don't have a HT oven you won't be able to do stainless. It has to soak at a certain temperture for a period of time.
Scott
Scott
Early in my Knifemaking I did not have a HT oven and I did alot of knives from O1 and used my cutting torches for heat treatment.
Later I experimented with 440C. I first tried to heat up the steel until it was orange hot and no longer magnetic. I held that temperature for about 5-10 minutes by moving the flame constantly over the entire blade to keep the heat even. There was some hardening, but it was not at all good enough.
I went back to my torches and held the orange hot temperature of the steel for half an hour. I added more fuel and less oxygen to the torch so that the flame was more white than blue to reduce the oxydation build up on the blades. In the end I had blades that were nice and hard, but had an awful thick build-up of crud to grind off. I tempered in the kitchen oven at 400F before grinding off the black oxydation.
I must say that it was a hit and miss method, but some of the knives were excellent edge holders.
Experiment with this abit if you have oxy-acetylene torches. After getting tired of grinding off the excessive build-up, I bought a Paragon HT oven and have been using it for over 20 years, and only had to change the elements once.
Later I experimented with 440C. I first tried to heat up the steel until it was orange hot and no longer magnetic. I held that temperature for about 5-10 minutes by moving the flame constantly over the entire blade to keep the heat even. There was some hardening, but it was not at all good enough.
I went back to my torches and held the orange hot temperature of the steel for half an hour. I added more fuel and less oxygen to the torch so that the flame was more white than blue to reduce the oxydation build up on the blades. In the end I had blades that were nice and hard, but had an awful thick build-up of crud to grind off. I tempered in the kitchen oven at 400F before grinding off the black oxydation.
I must say that it was a hit and miss method, but some of the knives were excellent edge holders.
Experiment with this abit if you have oxy-acetylene torches. After getting tired of grinding off the excessive build-up, I bought a Paragon HT oven and have been using it for over 20 years, and only had to change the elements once.
- Joined
- May 25, 2007
- Messages
- 968
ATS-34, 154-CM, 440-C are a few. But respond well to forced air hardening, or plate quench. Really no need for all the smoke, flam, and fumes from Oil quenching.
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2004
- Messages
- 9,439
I agree with Mike, plate quenching is the way to go.
Scott
Scott