treating/tempering 5160-Ed Caffery

S

sashcord

Joined
Nov 10, 1999
Messages
69
Ed,
In a previous thread you said to bring 5160
up to critical and quench 3 times with 0
soak time. What do you mean by 0 soak time?
Because you went on to say let it sit in the
quench over night. I hate to sound like a dumby but I guess if the shoe fits I will just have to wear it!

thanks,
Sashcord
confused.gif


congrats. on the MS, You do dynamite work!!!!





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Be alert...the world needs more lerts.
 
O soak time means, when it reaches nonmagnetic, QUENCH. As in bird shooting catch it on the rise. Some steels require soak, say 10 min. for the sake of discussion, when you reach non magnetic or the transfomation range you would "hold" the steel at that temp. for ten minutes. It is not recomended to do this with 5160.
 
Mike said it! Where 5160 or 52100 is concerned soak time will only cause grain growth, which in turn degrades the overall qualities of the finished blade. So just like Mike said, get it to critical, and quench immediatley. What I meant by letting the blade cool in the oil is......for a lack of a better way to explain it, the blade hardens when queched, by allowing it to cool down in the oil, the grain structure exhibits refined qualities as would take place during an annealing cycle, I really believe that this is the most benificial portion of the multiple quench method. It's easy to see the difference between a blade that has only been single quenched (and NOT cooled in the oil) versus one that has been triple quenched and allowed to cool IN the oil after all three quenches. When broken, the single quenched blade's grain structure will look like rocks when compared to the triple quenched blade's grain. Smaller, tighter grain= tougher, more resilent blade, capable of better edge retention and eaisier to sharpen.



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Ed Caffrey
"The Montana Bladesmith"
www.caffreyknives.com
 
thanks guys,
I knew the shoe would fit! You are both
gentlemen and scholars.

sashcord
confused.gif


------------------
Be alert...the world needs more lerts.
 
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