Super Quench formula

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Protactical

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I want to make up a bucket of this stuff to play with. I wondered whether anyone has any options for the surfactant. Shaklee isn't something anyone around here appears to have heard of. Are there any other options? Brand names? What kind of stores did you find it at if you found it?

Also, what is the 43-45 RC good for. Small anvils and tools is my main focus, but I wondered whether that hardness level would allow spings? I have some non-knife projects that require leaf springs, and they would be a lot cheaper if 1018 could be used.
 
Thanks. No wonder I wasn't finding them, I was looking in industrial suppliers vs amway, fuller brush type places. I should be able to track it down now. I try to avoid ebay cause I'm across the border, which is pretty disfunctional these days.
 
What kind of Jetdry did you use, the rinse agent? The SQ recipe I have seen uses 8 oz of Shaklee for the 5 gallon mix, did you use the same proportion of Jetdry? JD should be reasonably easy to find.
 
This is quoted from http://www.knives.com

What is "Superquench"... ?
A super fast quenchant. So fast it can be used to harden mild steel but too severe to use with a higher carbon content.

5 gallons water
5 lbs salt
28oz bottle of Dawn blue dish washing detergent
8oz bottle of JetDry or other rinse aid.

As the quenchant becomes exhausted the color changes from blue to yellow/green.
 
here is a little more on superquench from abanahttp://ronreil.abana.org/theforge1.html#&%20SUPERQUENCH:
I use this for making tools and just exparimenting with different metals,I'm not sure on the 1095 but it says not to use it on anything with more than 45-50 points of carbon. i quenched a peice of cable in it and it got way too brittle it broke like glass.iI'm really quite new to bladesmithing and blacksmithing but i hope i can share what useful information i can gather.
 
the superquench works great with a steel under .5C, it has a tendency to crack anything higher.
4140 and that quench makes great tools
I have found that it likes to eat through metal tubs though
 
Another possibility for a sufactant might be Red Line's "Water Wetter". This is NOT a recommendation to use but merely a possibility for experimentation. The upside being that it is specifically designed for use in pressurized engine coolant systems which approach boiling point temperatures. Just a thought.

Allen
 
Try Simple Green for the surfactant. You don't need to warm it up. The rest of the recipe I do the same as AwP, with Blue Dawn and lots of salt. Yes, you can make springs from super-quenched mild steel and they will be functional and won't break. Obviously they will fatigue faster than a hi-carbon spring, but they are fine for many applications and the 1018 is a breeze to work with. You can also make good blacksmith hammers with it, and when you super-quench tongs made from 1018, the handles will be nice and springy and they'll stay that way as long as you take care to cool them off between heats. Metallurgy snobs love to hate on mild steel, but you can actually get some pretty decent properties out of it with a super-quench.
 
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This has to be some kind of necroposting record. Its just a few days from 10 years old. LOL
 
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