Tempering question

C

CShepherd

Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
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Do you have to temper the blade right after quenching or is it okay to wait till later, e.g. hours or days later?

Reason I'm asking is that it's very hard for me to get 4+ hour blocks of time to fully heat treat (quench and temper twice). Was hoping I could perhaps heat and quench a few blades then temper them all at once at a later time.

I really apreciate everyone input.

Thanks,

Charles
 
You want to get your blades to the first tempering cycle quickly, I try to get them in within 15 minutes, but if I am heat treating a large batch, they may wait up to 45min to an hour in a rack in my shop. There is a lot of stress in the blade just after the quench, and it is easy to crack or break a blade at this point. the second tempering cycle can wait for a while. For example, quench several blades, setthem in the tempering oven for the first cycle, then if you need to you can wait days if necessary.

Ken
 
IronWolf,

Thanks for the info. Still trying to piece together this whole steel structure thing.

Makes sense on the stress before the first tempering cycle.

Charles
 
I've waited as much as a day with 1095 to temper after quenching. While i haven't had problems others have.

What steel are you using, some are less likely to crack than others? For that matter how you quench could make a difference as well (i.e. edge quench, clay coat etc).

ron
 
I'm using O1, edge quenched in vegetable oil. Haven't had any hardness tested (can't find anyone locally with a tester) but they do pass the file test and definetely hold an edge. I'm tempering them at 400 degrees for two 1-hour cycles.

Thanks,

Charles
 
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