Quenching 1095

[Don Hanson III]

I was looking at McMaster-Carr online for quenchant... they have two listed.. which would be best for 1095, 11 or 28 second quench??

You want the fastest oil you can get for 1095. The 11 second will do OK but Park's #50 will be much better, Darren Ellis has the Park's for sale.http://refractory.elliscustomknifeworks.com/

 

[Mark Williams]

Most everyone goes from the forge into the quench edge down or point first. The thinner edge is cooling rapidly as you move to the oil. Try moving the blade from the forge with the edge up and with the tip and edge traveling in the heat envelope of the larger cross section of the blade as you get to the oil.

And by all means do your quenching in a completely dark area.

And say this as you move to the oil.

"Hotsinananof fees supinanoof snobis is ouf is ees"

Dont know what it means but if you say it right it will cool your body temperature and calm you down as you do the quench.



just seeing if anyone was listening

 

[Kevin R. Cashen]

...Is the peanut oil really OK for my 01 and 5160???

If all you are quenching is O1 or 5160 then you can get away with just about anything for quenching, as far as the speed goes. The next thing to consider is the eveness of cooling due to convective properties and vapor jackets. If your blades are all comming out quite straight then you may not need to worry about this either. Next would be long term stability, over time oils not designed to do this sort of work will tned to oxidize, break down or even go rancid. In heavy industrial applications this will be a greater problem much faster as the shear mass of heat put into the oil daily will wear it down faster. If you are doing jsut a few knives, once again, it may be good enough.

It really does keep comming back to "good enough". If what a person is doing is "good enough" for them and their needs then so be it. Advising others on "good enough" gets tricky since they will have an entirely different set of standards, issues and goals. Under these circumstances the only route to take and still feel good that you have really done them the most service, is to recommend the absolute best tool for the job not just what you personally would be willing to settle with.

If I cut myself in the shop, pinching it back together with super glue and wrapping some black tape around it in order to get back to work "works just fine for me", but I would have to leave my conscience at the door to say it should work fine for anybody else. My obligation is to tell them the best route is to go to the E.R. or a doctor, I have done my best even if they then find that the black tape will work for them. Then we could get together and compare scars one day and laugh about why we are too damned stubborn to go to the doctor .

 

[Kevin R. Cashen]

Thanks for that Pearlite Pizza, Kevin.

Whatever oil you choose, agitation (up and down, not side to side) will greatly increase quench speed. That said, go with a professional HT oil!

John

You got me John! That aint no steel image, I just snapped a shot of my favorite pizza- blue cheese and anchovy...yummm

 

[jdm61]

The first time I agitated a W2 blade in Tough Quench per Kevin's instructions, I did not read part 2 of said instructions and agitated side to side. It didn't warp the blade because it was a small hunter, but I could see that the scale "blew off" higher up the blade on the side that got the first "swish" possibly indicatng that it had hardened more on that side. Interesting stuff.