qustion about heat treating d2

B

bartblade

Joined
Nov 4, 2002
Messages
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ok i am wondering is it possible to heat treat d2 with a homemade coal forge and use the color chart for a temp guide. i know this would not be favorable to most but i dont want to send it out to be done its for my new personal edc for work i will post some pics after i get the software and my usb cable back from the inlaws house.

anyway i dont need alot of opions. just to know if it can be done.

thanks guys, dale
 
Its not the best way to do it but it will get hard. I haven't messed with D-2 in years but I seem to recall it needs to get up to 1850 and soak for a few minutes. Coal will get plenty hot enough. I'd say give it a try but I wouldn't advise going this route if your planning on selling it. You will get alot of decarb if you don't wrap it in foil and that will be tuff to clean it up. Kitchen oven or a toaster oven should work to temper it.
 
bartblade said:
how about if i coat in in a thin layer of fire place cement?
Click to expand...

What for? D2 is an air quenching steel.

It needs precise temperature control between ~1810° and 1900°F and held at temperature (soaked) between 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the soak temperature.

Toaster oven or kitchen oven will be suitable for tempering, but use a second thermometer as a control-most oven thermometers are inaccurate.

There is no sense using D2 if you can't do the controlled heat treat. You need to get the most out of it to justify the extra cost.
 
bartblade said:
how about if i coat in in a thin layer of fire place cement?
Click to expand...

D2 is designed to be heated to 1850 - 1875 F and soaked at that temperature for 20 - 30 minutes, then air quenched. It needs to be protected from oxygen with either foil or inert atmosphere. While you might get lucky with a coal forge, my guess is that decarb will be so severe your blade will be ruined. It best, it will require substantial grinding after the heat treatment and without accurate temperature and soak time, the performance will always be suspect.
 
I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE FIRE PLACE CEMENT COATING TO KEEP THE SCALING OFF OR AT LEAST TO A LOW LEVEL.

AND AS I STATED BEFORE (its for my new personal edc for work)
 
You have a Voc-tech school nearby? If it has a Machine Tool class they probably have a HT Oven and SS foil. A visit and a pizza who knows. You could check at local fab shops as well. Some ceramic shops have high temp kilns. I have used Satanite to almost eliminate scale during HT
 
you dont think it would be aginst shcool policy for that? you cant even carry a pocket knife at the votech here anymore.
 
I go to our local Vo-Tech school at night I have HT 3 blades thus far and will HT one more Monday night. That's why you need to visit first, it is really the instructor's call. Mine is cool with it (he has made Black powder pistols and rifles there) The instructor's the key.
 
bartblade- do you know how to make a "cave" with your coal forge? if you make a cave you will get a reducing fire (think thats what its called). anyway, the fire will use all the oxygen in the cave and help prevent scale
 
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