Question about knife im going to make

yes im tempering it right now, i still cant belive i managed to get it too hot in forge with wood and low power hair dryer🤣
 
Next time use a magnet or salt to determine when you have hit your quenching temp. Been There Done That I would not try to do a soak prior to quench in a wood forge. Lump hardwood charcoal might give you better results. Color & Temp charts are iffy unless you have been at it awhile.
Oh and that chopper I mentioned earlier was .25" 1084 I got it so hot in a "wood" forge that gravity bent it over taking it from the fire to the quench tank.
 
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I'm agreeing with the others, it is hard to say (bad pun).

I will say that the edge should not be chipping that easily as-quenched under normal conditions. I have run a file across hundreds of blades and never had one chip. Sometimes it takes a couple strokes to get past the decarb and hear the "zing", but it should not chip unless there is a bad HT.
My suspicion is the blade is badly overheated and has massive grain growth.
Here is how to tell:
Break Test:
Break the as-quenched blade in half. That should be pretty easy to do. Break and old file in half. That should be much harder to break. Compare the broken edges and see how much coarser the blade looks compared to the file. Large grain looks like sand and fine grain just looks frosty.


If the grain looks OK in the break test, to check your HT and tempering use the brass rod test.
Brass Rod Test:
Temper the blade at 400°F (largest piece of it after the break) and grind it clean of scale and decarb, creating a basic bevel to a reasonably thin edge. Sharpen the edge on the grinder with a 220 belt or use a coarse stone. Strop the blade to remove any burr.
Place the edge vertically on a 1/4" brass rod and flex it side to side a bit. Justv push down and sideways enough to get some movement at the edge.
If it flexes and retains the bend, the blade isn't hard enough. - HT is the problem here

If it flexes and chips, it is too hard or has a bad HT. - It may need a higher temper at 450°, which you can do and check again. If the higher temper doesn't get better flex, the HT may be bad.

If it flexes and returns partly or completely to center, it is tempered just right. HT and temper are probably fine.

Massive grain growth comparison

grain growth.JPG
 
BTW, try and use cleaner language. This is a family site. Profanity is not allowed.
We let some things slide if there is no better way to say it, but usually there is a better wording.

Hard as glass and Did I mess up would have been far better wording. Feel free to edit those comments.
 
no no dude, the blade was chiped when i pulled it out of forge and quenched, when i file tested it, it was hard on all side, edge included. File didnt damage the edge. Now i hage tempered the blade, and will sharpen it to see if its good. Ill update yall in about 1h... Also i quenched the blade in sunflower oil(like vegtable oil) heated to 50C
 
i did the brass rod test, it doesnt chip, but i aint sure if it flexes or not, i mean it kinda flexes and is kinda visible but it doesnt bend like the whole way, it goes back and at the proper angle with light it can be seen slightly. Dont know what to make of it... good or bad...
 
mihaelx, I have to ask how many you've heat treated before? ^ that looks like most of the forge treated knives I have done. Looks like you have a lot of sanding ahead of you.
 
That looks like it has been overheated a few times. The blistered look is not one you want when forging.

Like I said it looks like most of the forge treated knives I've done. Never said they were right or pretty;-) Also why I took a looong hiatus from knife making.
 
milhaelx,
You haven't filled out your profile, so I don't know where you are.
If it was filled out, I might offer some forging steel for free.
Someone else near you may offer to teach you a few things and help with HT.
Fulling out your profile helps us help you.
 
milhaelx,
You haven't filled out your profile, so I don't know where you are.
If it was filled out, I might offer some forging steel for free.
Someone else near you may offer to teach you a few things and help with HT.
Fulling out your profile helps us help you.
I filled it out sir, thanks for all te help
 
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