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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
quenshing steel
- Thread starter royboy
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 4, 1999
- Messages
- 5,786
I've used 1084 with good success. If you are using your oven, get a decent oven thermometer because the guages on an oven are really not precise. For 1084, preheat your oven to around 350-400, aiming for 375-380. The hotter the oven, the softer the steel, so you may have to experiment to find your ideal temperature. take your finished blade and heat it with a torch to non-magnetic (the point at which a magnet no longer sticks to it) and then quench in oil. Olive oils or cooking oils work best because they won't stink up your kitchen.
The oil should be warmed to around 100 degrees because it quenches better than at room temperature. Do not hold the blade at non-magnetic or you begin to lose carbon. Once it reaches that point, quench the blade in oil. After about 15 seconds or so, the quenching process is pretty much done, but I usually let my blades air cool. some people dump the blade in the oil and let it cool that way.
Regardless, let the blade get to room temp, then temper it in the oven. I do three cycles at 380 degrees. The oven shoudl preheat for around an hour so you avoid the potential of heat spikes that can ruin your blade. Temper in a preheated oven for at least 60 minutes, take the blade out, let it cool to room temperature, then repeat the cycles two more times. It is easy to want to rush the heat treatment phase, but it is probably the most crucial part of the whole process, so take it easy. Once the third cycle has cooled to temp, then you're ready to use the knife! Easy! After that you can etch it in ferric chloride to see the temper line if you want. If you check it in the light closely you will see the temper line, anyway, without etching.
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Steve Agocs, D.C.
http://www.geocities.com/Chiro75/frames.html
agocs_s@hotmail.com
The oil should be warmed to around 100 degrees because it quenches better than at room temperature. Do not hold the blade at non-magnetic or you begin to lose carbon. Once it reaches that point, quench the blade in oil. After about 15 seconds or so, the quenching process is pretty much done, but I usually let my blades air cool. some people dump the blade in the oil and let it cool that way.
Regardless, let the blade get to room temp, then temper it in the oven. I do three cycles at 380 degrees. The oven shoudl preheat for around an hour so you avoid the potential of heat spikes that can ruin your blade. Temper in a preheated oven for at least 60 minutes, take the blade out, let it cool to room temperature, then repeat the cycles two more times. It is easy to want to rush the heat treatment phase, but it is probably the most crucial part of the whole process, so take it easy. Once the third cycle has cooled to temp, then you're ready to use the knife! Easy! After that you can etch it in ferric chloride to see the temper line if you want. If you check it in the light closely you will see the temper line, anyway, without etching.
------------------
Steve Agocs, D.C.
http://www.geocities.com/Chiro75/frames.html
agocs_s@hotmail.com