The second lesson... epic fail

S

Skeaterbait

Joined
Dec 17, 2014
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44
So, the first lesson was in not reading enough before purchasing my first steel, 1095. The second lesson is on color for temp gauging, I brought the knife up to a point that was non magnetic then checked the color. I did the best I could adjusting the temp by adjusting the propane pressure. I don't really know if that affects temp but it made me feel better. I got the color a bit brighter than it was at non magnetic and held it there as best I could for a bit more than 10 minutes then quenched in 140° canola. When I ran a file over it I got some biting on most of it. The actual edge didn't seem to be bad, but enough on the rest to count this as strike number one one the road to success.

Since my first lesson I have ordered some 1084 from Aldo, looking forward to that arriving.
 
It's definitely biting steel. I will try again later and see what happens. I will just keep trying till my 1084 gets here.
 
I would keep filing or take it to the grinder and be sure you're through any decarb layer that might be present before giving up on it. You wouldn't be the first guy who's been fooled by a thick layer of the stuff.
 
Skeaterbait, don't try to soak in a forge, bud. It will only lead to misery. I guaranty you overheated your 1095 blade. Don't scrap it though... you never know. There may still be good steel under the decarb. 1084 won't need a soak. I hope you are keeping that blade moving while you heat it up. Pump it through the forge to keep the heat even. Some folks put a thick-walled pipe through the forge and feed the blade into that. Look up "muffle pipe". What that does is spread the heat out and eliminates the direct flame on your steel.
 
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Not scrapping it, just tried it out due to boredom. I tried a muffle but it apparently was too large for the forge space and was stiffling the burner. I did move the blade around but not constant and I made sure to keep it out of direct flame.

I am curious about decarb, I assumed it to be black layer that develops, I have filed past that in to silver again. I was guessing that once I was past the black I was out of the decarb?
 
The black stuff is scale. Decarb is steel that has lost its carbon content, hard to tell by eye from the hardened stuff underneath.
 
File/grind in a few thousandths and you may find nice hard steel.

BTW, I would go ahead and temper it as soon as possible. 1095 does not like to wait for tempering.

As Rick said, trying to soak for 10 minutes in a small forge is not going to work. Just bring it up to the desired temp, get the blade evenly heated, and quench. For simple forges, 1084 is your best choice.
 
Thanks guys. I knew pretty much going in it was a fools errand but I am a Missouri boy so I learn best with the "Show Me" method. I will sand it down a bit and see what I find.
 
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