We try transmission oil as quenching medium. Pix.

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
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I was worried about quenching the Everest Katana due to length so decided to try a transmission oil quench. Gelbu and Sgt. Karka fill a length of bamboo with the oil. Bura conducts the test.

Results: The kamis hated it, saying they had no control using the transmission oil and were determined to stick with their slow water quench method.

They are the experts so I gave them my blessing and asked them to do their best on the katana. They assured me they could get the job done properly. I certainly hope so!

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 03-08-2000).]
 
One thing is certain, Uncle Bill, the BirGorkha kamis are craftsmen of the highest caliber, so we can bet that, come hell or high water, they'll ultimately turn out a top-quality product. They may have to develop some unorthodox methods, but they've clearly demonstrated in the past that they can be quite creative when they need to be.
 
Having Bura as the foreman has helped immensely. He knows his stuff and comes up with all sorts of good ideas and techniques.

I have confidence that they will come up with a decent katana without my transmission oil.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 


I hardened and tempered two large blades today in transmission oil; IMHO it's the perfect quench for 5160 - gets the steel hard, doesn't flare up.

I'm filled with admiration at the way the kamis quench 5160 steel with water; whenever I've tried it, the work shatters like glass.

The more I learn about hot metal work, the deeper my admiration for the kamis becomes.
 
We played with the oil and then water. I'm not sure if it was their expertise with the water but Bura showed me quenching techniques I'd never seen before and totally convinced me to leave the kamis alone and let them do it their way. We have the transmission oil to a fellow who had a leaky transmission so it wasn't wasted -- totally.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
Dan K wrote -

"Tom,
What color were you quenching at using the water??"

Clear orange; I use a magnet wired to a rod to tell me when the steel's ready to harden; as soon as the magnet won't grip, I quench.
 
Tom,
You're too hot. Back off to red-orange on the bright side. Bring your water temperature up to about 90.Degrees F. before you stick the steel in it and add a small handful of salt per gallon. I think your results will improve. If you have any doubts try it on a broken blade after you've annealed it. By the way, you are annealing the blades before you harden them aren't you? A good medium is: Sift ashes from a HARDWOOD fire to a fine dust. Mix dust with just enough olive oil to make a very thick paste.
put a layer on some heavy duty aluminum foil put the cherry red blade on the layer and quickly cover the blade with more paste. Paste layers should be about an inch and a half thick on each side of the blade. Wrap the foil around the whole thing and pop it into a preheated stove oven of about 400 degrees F. Drop the oven heat about 25Deg.F. every half hour till you get to 100 deg. then shut the stove off and let it all cool without opening up the stove. When it reaches room temperature wash the blade with soappy water. Then harden the blade. Then polish and temperthe blade. Differential tempering will take a different path (this is for a blade of consistant hardness, more or less).
Dan
PS. Wait until no one else is around and close the door to the kitchen and open the windows and turn on the fan, cuz that olive oil is going to smoke!!!!!
 
Thanks for great tips, Dan. You would have loved watching Bura harden a blade. He reads the color like I read a kindergarten book and gets the results he wants every time. He has taught a great deal to the journeymen and continues to be a great asset to BirGorkha. This is why he gets "foreman" pay.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
Thanks, Dan, I'll surely give that a try next time my wife goes off visiting her folks..

I have to say, though, that I get perfectly good results quenching in transmission oil; also, I probably didn't describe my hardening color accurately enough; it's the orange that's one shade up from cherry red, if that makes any sense. At cherry red, I find the stuff doesn't harden.
 
That is what led to the double heat treated Springfield rifles, and later the nickel steel ones. After they changed the 30 caliber model 1903 cartridge to the 30 caliber cartridge of 1906 / the 30-(19)06 / they made the 03 rifle at the armory for years. Then came WWI and they hired a bunch of new workers who weren't familiar with tempering by color, so they got the receivers a little bit brighter shade hotter, and rifles started shattering. By WWII they did it by temperature, not color anymore. Leastways so I heard it said.
 
:
Dan doesn't vermiculite work for annealling also?
I realize it would probably cool a lot, lot quicker than the controlled method you talked about.
Seems as if I have read about some smiths using the stuff though.

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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"Know your own bone, gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it again."

'Thoreau'

Khukuri FAQ
 
Tom,
I'm going to make up a color/temperture chart and maybe Howard can post it in the FAQ? I think any discussion on techniques would be better served if we were all on the same page.

Yvsa,
Yah it would work, cuz it has insulating qualities, but I wonder about geting the mica imbeded into the surface of the steel upon initial contact. Almost anything that inhibits the cooling will improve the structure, it's a matter of toughness.

Tom,
I didn't say anything about using oil, etc., 'cuz you were the one with problems using water.

To All,
I just love working with Iron. I've been doing it for almost 50 years and I still know almost nothing about it. There are more secrets than any one person has time to learn in a life time except maby the first Petarchs. If you've got 7-8 hundred years to play with you might learn all there is to know about the subject.
Dan
 
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