Quench rate question for A2 steel.

HPD

HPD

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Besides preventing warping, what are the potential pitfalls to simply cooling A2 steel in still air versus plate quenching? I ask because I want to grind a large A2 Bowie before heat treatment. I want it to be precise and my belt grinding is still hit or miss. Some blades turn out nice, some not so nice. I want this blade to be nice so I'm planning on doing some if not most of the grinding with a file jig. By the time I'm done there probably won't be enough flat area for the plates. I have also considered an interrupted oil quench using ATP-641 and a slower oil, but I'd rather stick with foil and air cooling.
 
A2 is very forgiving, in my experience. It's designed to air harden, so I wouldn't sweat it too much. I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that warping is more likely with a faster quench- generally speaking- but I have yet to experience warping with that steel in any event. If I were in your shoes, I'd air cool until I could just barely touch it then cool in running water, dry it off and chuck it in the freezer for a couple hours. I might then decapitate a chicken, then drink its blood for good measure.
 
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Lorien said:
A2 is very forgiving, in my experience. It's designed to air harden, so I wouldn't sweat it too much. I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that warping is more likely with a faster quench- generally speaking- but I have yet to experience warping with that steel in any event. If I were in your shoes, I'd air cool until I could just barely touch it then cool in running water, dry it off and chuck it in the freezer for a couple hours. I might then decapitate a chicken, then drink its blood for good measure.
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I've read that faster quenches lead to less retained austenite (which makes sense), but apparently A2 is so forgiving in that regard that it's not a concern. I plan on using a dry ice slurry as part of the quench so that will reduce RA. I'm going to go for it. Thanks for the reply.
 
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