Questions regarding heat treating 1095, Help a NOOB!

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Ethan_Hardy

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Sep 10, 2011
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I posted the following link under a different section and got referred here. I wasn't sure how to move the post but heres a link.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...rch-for-heat-treating?p=11777411#post11777411

Another user said that 1095 needs to be soaked at austentizing temps for a couple minutes to get the carbides in solution. How do I do that? What other steps are involved? I already know from other posts that I need to bring the steel up to the point where it loses magnetism then quickly quench it in quench oil that is about 200 F then temper it several times at around 400 F for an hour each time. What kind of burner should i use to bring it up to this temp (preferably cheap)?

EDIT- I dont have access to a welder either,
 
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Don't heat your quench oil to 200 degrees!!!!!!! The flash point on some oils is close enough that you'd risk a fire.

Canola heated to 130 is the standard environmentally friendly, easy to use quench medium. Search Canola oil. Quench. 1095. And look at old posts by Tai Goo.

You likely won't succeed at holding 1095 at say 1475 degrees for 5 minutes without a kiln or forge with a PID. If you already have 1095 and are ready for heat treat, use the canola oil. You won't get the full performance but from my experience with learning heat treat, it will take awhile of testing and using before you'll know the subtleties of performance differences.

The stickies above have all you need to know on making knives!!
 
Also the 1475 is about 60f higher than non magnetic, so when it goes non magnetic give it a little bit more time. How much time depends on you heat source.
 
The reality is that you don't start into heat treating with hopes of quick success. Expect a learning curve. If you find that your first blade worked out, it is either a fluke or you just don't know enough to see that it didn't. That is not meant to deter you from taking the step... just a reality check so you don't ruin a knife you've been working on for a month. Practice with small pieces of known steel(stick-of-gum-sized) and run some tests. Read the "stickies". Work on heat control and grain refinement. Break your test pieces and learn what to look for. If you haven't purchased steel yet, look into getting 1070-1084. They are perfect steels to learn with.

If you currently have a knife ground out and ready, find an experienced maker that can HT it for you. Fill out your profile with your location. You may have a knifemaker close by willing to help you out.
 
I answered your other thread, but will add some comments here.

The stickies have a lot of good info on heat treatment, building forges, and other things you need to know before you get too far ahead of yourself to change mistakes. Also, these type of topics are discussed almost daily in Shop Talk, so doing a search will probably help yo get exactly the answer you want. Use this search engine ( put it in your browser bar for quick searching) for all topics in Bladeforums:
http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=011197018607028182644:qfobr3dlcra

Final comment;
Things like "....heat the oil to 200 degrees...." are commonly found by doing random internet searches. Every fool who wishes can become immortal by posting any bad advice he wants on the internet. There is no BS filter for this bad advice, and the only solution is to get your advice from a place where the folks know what they are talking about.
In Shop Talk we have very experienced folks who will tell you the right procedures. We also have a lot of newer folks like you. Many are eager to pass on info that they may have read on the internet...which may be like the poor facts you read, or good advice from a newer maker who has learned the hard way. So, learn to recognize the members who have been on the site a bit longer and will probably give the best advice. One really great thing about Shop Talk, is that if poor advice is posted, the folks here will quickly correct the problem with the proper info.
Again, the stickies here have been well vetted and contain great advice.
 
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