Tried annealing a handful of files today...

Andrew Colglazier

Andrew Colglazier

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Sep 14, 2006
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in my grill using mosquite wood.

All of the files, including a big farrier's file, became red hot. I pulled them out of the embers and let them air cool.

They were just as hard as they could be, afterwards.

What did I do wrong?

Andy
 
I think you did the opposite of annealing. Try heating to much lower temp - "straw color IIRC -- and holding them there for "longer."

(I need to try to find Bo Randall's instructions for making a kinfe again.)

Oh Dan!!
 
Thomas may have it. Some steels will re harden if they cool too quickly. I would try the lower temp also, and then bury them in sand or something to allow them to cool more gradually.

Take care,

Tom
 
the key to annealing is a slow cool (think hours...not minutes)

Get a bucket of vermiculite or even just ashes. Bring the blade up to "non-magnetic" (red-hot is fine) and then put it in the vermiculite overnight. In the morning they'll be annealed.

You can get vermiculite at Home Depot/Lowes/etc.
 
Like Dan said! I started to answer this, and got a 20 minute phone call. Low and Behold, the Great Pendentive had intervened!:thumbup:

If you don't have vermiculite, you can also use wood ashes to good effect. If you preheat the ahes or the vermiculite you can slow down the cool rate even more.

Good luck and have fun!

PS ~ take a look back at this thread. I posted some info, and another member posted a link to a steel data sheet. I think they will help you out. Also, read your $50 knife shop cover to cover. If a video is more your speed, get Tim Lively's video. It will be money well spent!http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=444528
 
Thanks!

But I'm confused.... why was I able to anneal a file by heating it with a berzomatic torch to red hot, but not with the grill?

Andy
 
several possibilities...

The file could be a case-hardened file (which would not anneal)...but probably not likely the answer.

File steel is usually W-1 which is a low-alloy steel that is quite easy to anneal. Perhaps you did not heat it thoroughly? Or hot enough?

I often anneal my steel by simply leaving it in the forge as the forge cools down. Some steels (like L6) that are more complicated do not anneal that way and need a much slower cooling process.

I say try it again and make sure the red-hot blades are actually non-magnetic.
 
You could just leave them in the grill and take them out the next day. They should be annealed by then, after slowly having cooled down together with the grill.

Keno
 
richardallen said:
You could just leave them in the grill and take them out the next day. They should be annealed by then, after slowly having cooled down together with the grill.

Keno
Click to expand...

That's usually what I do be careful though they can still be pretty hot the next day.
 
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