Water vs oil in creating hamon

Thanks for the answers gents, both very humble. I guess there's no substitute for practice, so that's what I'll have to do.
Thanks,
Nathan
 
Wow, many posts, nice blades... thank you all.... Since Don seems to get good results with oil, I will try that on my blade as well. Still, some more questions:
1 . Do you sand&polish the blade thoroughly before hardening? AND, linked to that question, is the hamon stronger towards the surface of the blade, i.e. could you "grind off" a hamon?
2 . Do you quench the blade until it has cooled down completely?

Sorry for these seemingly "silly" questions. Although I have been making knives for a couple of years, it is the first time I am trying a differential hardening. Don't want to get frustrated with the first try...
 
A quick question on quenching with clay, when you quench does the clay stay on the blade or does some of it end up in the tank.

Richard
 
Hephaestos,
1, I take my blades to 120 grit on the grinder before HT and .040'' thick at edge. I have gone higher and even hand sanded before and see no diff, just more work.
You can't grind off the hamon but can lose some of the activity if heavy stock removal is done after. A healthy bit of steel should be removed after HT though, I grind to almost sharp, then start hand sanding.
2, I leave the blade in the oil for 8 to 10 seconds, then scrap the clay off and clean up with a 120 belt. if I like what I see, it goes into the oven for temper. If I don't like, I re-clay and go back to the forge.

Richard, most of the time, the clay will stay on my blades but it doesn't really matter if some blows off in the quench.
 
Stacy, thank you very much for the link to that most useful thread!

Don, thanks for the answers, I feel prepared to tackle that hamon now...

I will have to run some experiments on the clay this week, and finish rough sanding of the blade. For the clay I am planning to use a mixture that I have used before to make crucibles: clay, graphite, crushed bricks.
Hopefully I will be able to post a picture of the blade towards the end of next week.
 
Finished today....Another oil quenched W2 blade :)

stagbowie4.jpg
 
So Don from the look of that one it is not a first timer through the quench? I believe that I can see two distinct patterns there.
 
Bill, you're right. It's a 'three quencher' :)

I did three blades the other day and two were 'one quenchers'.

Just never know with this stuff, but it's fun!
 
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