Quenchant suppliers and a question?

P

Philadelph

Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
115
So I need some Quenching oil. I know you can use vegetable oil or used motor oil etc. but I want to get the good stuff. I can't seem to find many suppliers other than Ellis Custom Knifeworks and they are out of Parks. Where else is there?

The other question I had is deciding on an oil. I hear everyone talking about Parks #50 but the descriptions say that AAA would be better for O1, L6, etc. So if I'll be using mainly O1, 1095, and probably O1/L6 damascus or something, how do I decide on which oil to get? Will the faster oil (50) be too fast for O1?

Thanks!
 
Philadelph said:
The other question I had is deciding on an oil. I hear everyone talking about Parks #50 but the descriptions say that AAA would be better for O1, L6, etc. So if I'll be using mainly O1, 1095, and probably O1/L6 damascus or something, how do I decide on which oil to get? Will the faster oil (50) be too fast for O1?
Click to expand...

Houghton International has quenchants (oil and polymer base). Houghto-quench "K" and "G" are equivalent to Park #50 and AAA. "K" is supposed to be a little bit faster than #50 and more stabile. "G" is very slightly slower than AAA when new but AAA gets slower with use. "G" is more stabile than AAA.

Brownell's sells 'Tough Quench' by the gallon. It is repackaged Houghto-quench "G".

Scott McKenzie posts on BS and SFI. He is Houghton's metallurgist and quench oil specialist. Scott made an offer on BS recently that if folks e-mailed him, he would send them info on local distributors or commercial users. The reason for the offer is that Houghton only sells small quantity (5 gal.) at a premium out of the Allentown, Penn. office. I bought 5 gallons of each out of Allentown a year ago this summer and got them delivered to western Wyoming for $210.

There is a great SFI thread on commercial quenchants... http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t=53085. There is a post in this where Scott McKenzie states Houghto-quench "G" will fully quench 1095/W1/W2 up to 1/4" and with less distortion than the fast oils. "G" is also the oil Don Fogg has used with a lot of 10xx steel.

It might be folks who quench with clay couldn't use "G". Personally, I don't know. But with not much experience with the "K" and "G", I think I could have just gotten some "G", saved my self money and quench tank building time, and heat treat W1 (1.20 C), W2, 1080, wire rope, O1, and L6 (Carpenter) perfectly well.

Mike
 
Has anyone used the quenchants from McMaster-Carr? 11 sec anc 28 sec is how they are clasified. just wondering if it would be worth the trouble of ordering a 5gal bucket.
 
I have a 5 gal bucket of each of those McMaster Carr oils. I have yet to use the slow, but the fast works just dandy. Shipping was fast, price was reasonable.
-Mark
 
For the O1 or L6 just about any decent commercial quenchant will do fine, however for the 10XX the Park #50 may be worth the extra hassle.
 
I am working with folks who are trying some Houghton products after the Parks hassle, the jury is still out until we see enough results to make a decent comparison, but so far the look and the feel of the Houghton oil leaves me with an uneasy feeling. I know it is meaningless and shallow of me, but the more viscous feeling and the dark, used motor oil look and smell bothers me. Parks #50 just feels good all the way around to use, it is perfectly clear with a slight amber tint so you can watch the blade cool under the surface and see if you are getting any contamination or suspensions, it feels like "wet water" (firefighters will know what I mean) between your fingers and has a clean smell like a fine machinists oil. However as we know it is darn near impossible to get unless you have somebody with connections, and when I recently found another route to buying it from Heat Bath, i also found that they had more than doubled their prices!:mad:
 
Kevin R. Cashen said:
I am working with folks who are trying some Houghton products after the Parks hassle, the jury is still out until we see enough results to make a decent comparison, but so far the look and the feel of the Houghton oil leaves me with an uneasy feeling. I know it is meaningless and shallow of me, but the more viscous feeling and the dark, used motor oil look and smell bothers me. Parks #50 just feels good all the way around to use, it is perfectly clear with a slight amber tint so you can watch the blade cool under the surface and see if you are getting any contamination or suspensions, it feels like "wet water" (firefighters will know what I mean) between your fingers and has a clean smell like a fine machinists oil. However as we know it is darn near impossible to get unless you have somebody with connections, and when I recently found another route to buying it from Heat Bath, i also found that they had more than doubled their prices!:mad:
Click to expand...

My problem is I don't have much experience with quenching. I only know what I've been told or heard from people with a lot of experience and who I feel (not, know...) have tool-sets/process to gather valid data. I'd love to see data from someone using high carbon 10xx/W1/W2 steel and "G" (Brownell's 'Tough Quench').

Thanks for the reply, Kevin... if knife-maker data on Houghton oils (maybe even Houghton's Bio-Quench 700) actually becomes available, it will be very helpful, no matter the end conclusions.

Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top