Rutland 211 for a Hamon?

[MasonOstrom]

I’m getting ready to attempt a Hamon on a large kitchen knife. Blade steel is .120 thick 1075. I plan to grind bevels to about a .030 edge before heat treating. My main question is about claying the blade. I have Rutland 211 dry mix refractory mortar on hand has well as Rutland cast-able refractory cement (I don’t remember the number). Are either of these the right choice for coating a blade for a Hamon? I’ve read pretty extensively on hamons but everything I’ve read just says Rutland furnace cement and there are a lot of choices in that category. I appreciate everyone’s help. Hoping to make this kitchen knife come out spectacular.
Mason

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

The dry-mix should be fine.

Make a thin slurry and coat the blade with a "wash coat". Let it dry overnight. Mix a batch about the consistency of Greek yogurt and do the hamon coat. It does not need to be very thick. .060"/1.5mm is plenty thick enough.

Temperature control is very important in a hamon quench (yaki-ire). A HT oven is the best choice.
HT at the lower end of the range for 1075 steel. Lower 1400°s is good. Some folks go really low and do it in the oven at 1375°F/745°C. 1075 starts the conversion to austenite right at the Curie point (I have read it is actually below the Curie point).