Tempering 1045

[Tomaz L.]

I got a lot of 1045 at hand and I thought I could make some blades out of it. Since 1045 is only around 58HRc after quenching I want to temper it at the minimum temperature necessary to remove any stresses but retaining as much hardness as possible. Would tempering at about 210°F do the trick or is it too low? Looking at the chart tempering at 300°F would only leave me with about 55HRc which is a bit low for my liking.

 

[rlinger]

I would go at minimum 300 to 300+. The amount of your effort probably out weighs the benefit of the no-cost steel. A letter opener perhaps?

RL

 

[John Frankl]

Do you have mill specs for the steel. If you are close to .5 carbon content you could get away with some big stuff. Wally Hayes uses 1050 for some of his katana and they seem to cut quite well. At .4 carbon, however, I'm not sure.

John Frankl

 

[Tomaz L.]

No mill specs unfortunately... It seems to harden ok though, might work for some bigger blades. And you're right - I've been meaning to experiment with Japanese-style blades and clay hardening. I'm still new to it and learning so I think I'll give it a shot with 1045.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Temper it at 300-325.Maybe 350 if you are going to make a sword from it.I would say play around with the 1045,and then get some 1095 or 5160.