Steels Heat treatable in a Forge

Diego_B

Diego_B

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Aug 17, 2020
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Hello everyone, this question may be an obvious answer and I may already know it, but lately I have been wondering about the idea of what steels are heat treatable in a simple propane forge capable of achieving welding heat. I have been wondering about this for a while and I know 1084 is a good choice and that's all I use at the moment but I would like to have another selection of steel that I can ht here at home. I've heard about 1075 having a simple ht and doable in a forge but what about other steels? I see a lot of makers using 1095 and O-1 but I have heard if you are not able to soak these steels then you are better off just using 1084. What about 15N20? Since it is paired with 1084 for Damascus. Also does anyone here ht 1095 or O-1 in a forge?
 
1080, 1084, 1075 are good choices,

8670 is quite forgiving, and 80crv2 is not bad. 15n20 can be heat treated, but it really excels when given proper temp and soak.

8670 is probably the most forgiving of the group. It gets near max hardness over a 100f temp range.
 
Glad you asked this question because I needed to know as well, I now have 2 more choices of steel. Thanks
 
How well does a thermocouple work to those of you that use them? Is their purpose mainly just there so that you know you have reached the target temp with simple steels like 1084? Or are you able to sit and soak the steel at a temp? Because I know that sitting in front of a forge for 5 min can feel like 5 hours.
 
I don’t heat treat with my forge, but have experimented the temp settings. With my blown forge I can get my forge temp to stabilize at 1500-1550 quite easily. Place the thermocouple as close to the blade as possible, the temp inside the forge can vary greatly.
 
As someone who primarily heat treats in a coal forge, and occasionally in a propane forge, I can say from experience that 1080/1084, 5160, and 8670 have all given good, consistent results. 8670 is now my go-to.

15N20 and 80CrV2 seem to be a bit more finicky, but are still doable with a little more care taken.

52100 is another level up in terms of difficulty. You have to know how to keep your forge at a consistent, even temperature for upwards of 10 minutes.

In any case, I'd suggest purchasing a thermocouple and thermometer so you can figure out exactly what color your steel will be at your target temperature. Consider setting up a muffle as well, which is essentially an empty pipe inserted into your forge that you then place your blade into. The muffle helps to ensure the blade receives even heat all around, rather than hot spots directly under the flame and cooler spots elsewhere.
 
Diego_B said:
How well does a thermocouple work to those of you that use them? Is their purpose mainly just there so that you know you have reached the target temp with simple steels like 1084? Or are you able to sit and soak the steel at a temp? Because I know that sitting in front of a forge for 5 min can feel like 5 hours.
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Before I got my kiln, I could hold a temp for 10-15 minutes.
 
I’m on the other side of the isle. you can heat treat just about any steel in a forge but the question is should you. It is VERY hard to judge temp by color. But I do heat treating quite a bit so I’m rather found of pid controlled electric ovens.
 
Yes, I see that anything is really heat treatable in a forge. However a temperature controlled ht oven is still out of my reach right now and honestly I’m not sure how much I would benefit from it right now because I am still trying to master the basics. But it would sure be nice to have though!:rolleyes:
 
I am just experimenting on how to get steady temps in my forge.

Thermocouple has been helpful. Once I got one what was not malfunctioning.

15n20, 1065, 5160 so far.
 
I've had reasonable results heat treating thin sections of 52100 in a gas forge.
A gas forge should be fairly stable once it's up to temperature (depending a bit on air movement). If you can get a piece of thick steel pipe you can put that in the forge and place the blade inside to get a more even heat.

Part of the question is your goal with the heat treatment. You may not be able to get as hard a blade as with other methods, but you have to judge if that's acceptable to you
 
Be careful, a maker sent Larrin multiple coupons out of 52100 heat treated in a forge with a thermocouple. He complained about the results of our testing certain that his results would be better and prove that his methods were superior. All coupons/conditions tested so poorly that Larrin never reported the results.

Hoss
 
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