quick "cheap and dirty" lesson in water quenching anyone?

Nismo

Nismo

Joined
Jun 27, 2002
Messages
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I have a cheap "junk" khukuri that the blade is not hardened but I still put a sharp edge on it but I want to at least get it somewhat harder than what it is now. I have an oxy/ac torch and a pitcher of water, how what? :)
 
I think I saw another khukuri site that had a linked video that showed a kami pouring water on the edge of a blade with a kettle.

I don't remember the site though. :(
 
quick-n-dirty lesson?

Don't do it. There....lesson over....and you didn't have to go through the agony of burnt fingers, singed arm-hair, cracked blade, and sleepin' in the doghouse because of the mess all over the house...:rolleyes:

Seriously, though....if you want to experiment, use oil. Sure, it'll burn you and make a mess too, but at least you won't get a cracked blade....:(


Otherwise, if you're feeling particularly knuckle-headed today....(and we all have those days...:D)....you'll need to heat the blade to non-magnetic, which shouldn't take too long with you O/A setup. Have a magnet nearby to check it. Start heating from the spine (where the bend begins) and blow it past the spine toward the edge - make sense? Then, when the part you want hardened is non-magnetic, slowly pour the water "over" the edge. The water should be tea-kettle temperature, by the way.

If you hear a "ping"....make sure you make a nice loud noise as you throw the blade in the garbage...:p

The quench should last less than 20 seconds if you've done it right.


What the heck, right?



:footinmou
 
Agree with Dan. From what I've read and heard, only the Kami's RAISED into it from birth should be foolin with water. Cheap, dirty, broken and wounded sound likely for any one else.



munk
 
Dan gave good advice. Most knifemakers recommend heating the blade and then hardening the steel by dipping it in oil. You can create a hamon by just dipping the part you want hardened.
There is still a need to temper the steel. Wayne Goddard recommends heating in the oven at 375-450 depending on the steel. You should probably check a good site for info on the time and temp.
 
Ok so hear is my off topic thread killer

I am with Dan on this as in don't do it with water.
Now I have only made 8 knifes so my knowledge is small compared to lots of others.

The problems I see are getting even enough heat with out making some kind of forge/oven for the flame of the ox acetylene , as Dan said you want to get the blade up to a non magnetic heat, now you only need to get the part you want to harden that hot but "just that part" is a lot to heat on a kukri. So think about that and try it on a bit of scrap. Once you have found a way to get it up to temp you are about a third of the way there. Water is a easy way to brake a blade, I know first hand. Oil is a better bet and lots of oils are used, for reasons of cheapness I have used ATF room temp and warmed up a bit.

Then you need to temper the blade, this is best done ASAP. As a pace to start try 400 deg for one hour.


I even have used corn oil heated to 370 deg to quench and temper in one shot. photo: http://www.azblacksmiths.org/events/IraDemo/pages/16KeenerQuench2.html

In that photo you can see that just the cutting part is being hardened,quenched,tempered. The spine is air cooling.

So as you know by now there are lots of roads to get to where you want to go, so the real question is are you going to start on one of them? If you go with the water /tea kettle path let me know how it goes, as I am very curious to the details.

Glass Smith AKA Keener
 
A full quench in oil is much safer for the blade, but wear gloves and be prepared for a flash fire at the oil’s surface as vapors ignite. Because of the khukuri’s size and shape, you’ll need a big container for the oil.

Heating a large blade evenly with a torch is much easier said than done, so you’ll want to practice on some scrap.

If you want to try a traditional water quench, use a container of room temperature (or slightly warmer) water – don’t use cold water. A teakettle pours at a rate which works well for me, much better than a coffee pot which pours at a faster rate. Remember that the container has to have enough water for the entire blade. After heating the blade, pour the water on the top of the edge grind with the edge pointed slightly down so the water will run from the top of the grind down to the edge. Pour down one side, flip the blade and pour down the other side.

After hardening, temper the blade at 325-350 F.

Good luck.
 
Thanks all for the information. I have done some oil and water quenching with some chisels I made back in highschool but I guess the khuk will be more of a challenge....ok a lot more of a challenge than I would have thought. Heck, we all gotta experiment right? :D I got some old motor oil somewhere and Ill see how it goes if I ever actually try it.
 
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