WOW Parks#50!!!!!!

I dont know squat about quenching oils, but in the words of Dennis Prager, "I prefer clarity over agreement." Sometimes I feel like forum rants and debates look like this....

:jerkit:


:jerkit: :jerkit:



:jerkit: :jerkit:



:jerkit: :jerkit:


ps:now you can say im a hypocrite for using this smiley, but I guess its not offensive!
 
Called the Parks manufacturer today and we had a nice long talk. He told me most people in our industry he has talked to preffer peanut oil because of the results it gives if done correctly. It does take some technique to get it right that's for sure. I told him I wanted to try the Parks 50 and he said he would sell it to me, but that if I what I'm using, with it's fast quench at 400 degrees and it's ability to go to even higher temps without flash and have good results, then I may not like the Parks. It is also very unfriendly to the environment. Wonder what health issues are? Perhaps those are a few reasons why they choose not to sell in small amounts to the smiths. Sword making is an art form thousands of years old and each of us has his or her special art to give the world. If everyone used Parks it would be a sad place. Very cool people over there. There are lots of natural oils that can be used and are used for quenching. Parks is not used in the quenching of surgical instruments for instance. The 50 is made for industrial use only and the knifemaking industry got hold of it unintentionaly. That's cool, and he made me feel great about what I do. He said why try parks? Hmmm I also would like to improve. In the past I have tried Mcmaster-Carr quenchant and a miriad of others and so far the peanut oil works best for me and I am not alone apparently. You can quench blades in it all day and then temper them in the same oil. Still I would try the Parks and most likely like it. There issues with it as with anything else I guess.
Sam thanks, sorry I took your post in a ill way. Personally to avoid "flame wars" I would loose that particula emoticon from this forum, but I don't work here. As for seeing my blades in sword forum, it is where alot of my customers post pictures of my stuff. I don't post pictures at all and usually don't brag or push my stuff anywhere unless backed into a corner, though I'm an educational advisor on that forum (wonder how that happened) and have been told I am free to do that. I have come here and sounded snooty on a few occasion, but can't understand why alot of you expect everyone to go bandwagoning together. Do what you want but one size does not fit all.
 
You explained your thoughts well, John.

I,too, have always been confused by the "jerk it" smiley. I think many (myself included) have used it as a "scratching the chin" emoticon. Perhaps it could be removed with little loss.
Stacy
 
Like Kevin said, this whole quench oil debate is strange.

I'm going to use what works best for me and I recommend all others to do the same :)

P.S. John, did you order the #50, when the guy said he would sell it to you???
I had no trouble buying from them 3-4 years ago but was flat turned down and ignored 2 years ago.
 
Keep in mind with your vegetable oils, that they will dry out and become more sluggish with time...

Hey Sam, you every tried vibrating your veggy oil?
 
Tai Goo said:
Keep in mind with your vegetable oils, that they will dry out and become more sluggish with time...

Hey Sam, you every tried vibrating your veggy oil?
Click to expand...
I think that might be illegal in Florida :eek::D
 
come on guys keep the virgins good for quenching

hell you dont want to have to teach the girl all the tricks (she should know a few but not all :))
 
butcher_block said:
come on guys keep the virgins good for quenching

hell you dont want to have to teach the girl all the tricks (she should know a few but not all :))
Click to expand...

uhm. . . YES YOU DO!:eek::thumbup::D other person's leavin's is bad juju!


also yea they never responded to my email. oh well it was worth a shot
 
Last edited:
FYI quenching in virgins won't give you full martensitic transmutation.

I've always heard that urine from red haired boys is best...
 
Last edited:
Please forgive me if the information I'm requesting has already been posted :o I've looked all over the place and can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for.

Could one of you guys please post some numbers, for comparison sake, in regards to quenching speeds ?

I've been using McMasterCarr quenching oil, their 11 second oil and the 28 second oil, depending on what type of steel I'm working with.

How does Parks # 50 compare to the 11 second oil from McMasterCarr, speed wise ??

How does McMaster Carr 11 sec. oil and Parks # 50 compare to peanut oil ?

I'm looking for a quenchant other than water or brine (which, for me, has too high a failure rate) . I'm looking for something that's faster than the McMasterCarr 11 sec. oil, which is what I've been using for W2 and 1095 when doing Hamon.

If the requested numbers aren't available, even a statement such as, " X is ~ twice as fast as Y " will suffice. I'm just looking for something to compare to :o

And while I'm here, I'm curious about what the time listed for different quenchants is in reference to. For example, in the case of McMasterCarr 11 second oil, 11 seconds from what?.... to what? ?? :confused:

As usual ..... Thanks for any help you guys can give me :)
 
Tai Goo said:
Keep in mind with your vegetable oils, that they will dry out and become more sluggish with time...

Hey Sam, you every tried vibrating your veggy oil?
Click to expand...


Tai has brought up something here which can be of benefit to all of us no matter what kind of quench media you use. Vibrating a quench can speed it up dramatically, of course this along with circulating the quench media or creating a current to quench into has been used by industry for quite some time.
 
David Wesner said:
Please forgive me if the information I'm requesting has already been posted :o I've looked all over the place and can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for.

Could one of you guys please post some numbers, for comparison sake, in regards to quenching speeds ?

I've been using McMasterCarr quenching oil, their 11 second oil and the 28 second oil, depending on what type of steel I'm working with.

How does Parks # 50 compare to the 11 second oil from McMasterCarr, speed wise ??

How does McMaster Carr 11 sec. oil and Parks # 50 compare to peanut oil ?

I'm looking for a quenchant other than water or brine (which, for me, has too high a failure rate) . I'm looking for something that's faster than the McMasterCarr 11 sec. oil, which is what I've been using for W2 and 1095 when doing Hamon.

If the requested numbers aren't available, even a statement such as, " X is ~ twice as fast as Y " will suffice. I'm just looking for something to compare to :o

And while I'm here, I'm curious about what the time listed for different quenchants is in reference to. For example, in the case of McMasterCarr 11 second oil, 11 seconds from what?.... to what? ?? :confused:

As usual ..... Thanks for any help you guys can give me :)
Click to expand...


David, I do not have it at my fingertips but I believe I have seen a comparison chart that put Heatbath/Park #50 at around 7 to 8 seconds. The standard has been the nickel ball test where a 7/8" nickel ball is heated to a given temp (often 1625F) and then quenched in the oil and the time it takes for the ball to reach the 670F (the Currie point for nickel) is what is measured. However I believe Heat Bath/ Parks uses a heated wire test so direct comparison does not always work.

I have data from their spec sheets (not a sales person, office manager or receptionist). According the charts I have from Park (which I will interpret instead of posting to avoid stepping in their toes) this oil's maximum cooling rate in the wire test from 1600F to below 250F is 198.96F per second and this rate occurs at around 1082F on the cooling curve (now think about pearlite and why this oils works so well on 10XX series steels). However also of note is the cooling rate at 517F in the cooling curve which is 19.04F per second - over tens times slower as you approach Ms! Think about that the next time you may doubt that quench oils are designed specifically to do this job! This cooling curve chart I am looking at resembles a perfect mirror image of an I-T/TTT curve for 1095, effectively dodging the pearlite nose as if it wasn't there.

THis is a quote frok the literature - "50 QUENCH OIL produces high hardnesses in many types of steel ordinarily considered “water quenching”. In the initial stages of the quench, 50 QUENCH OIL cools like water. As the cooling nears the martensite formation range, this remarkable oil cools the steel slowly and uniformly to preclude cracking or distortion.

The recommended operating temperature range is ambient to 120oF.
50 QUENCH OIL is as effective at 50oF as it is at 120oF because of its low viscosity.

...Most quenching oils flash at about 350oF; the flash point of 50 QUENCH OIL is 275oF. But, no fire risk is present if ordinary precautions are observed.50 QUENCH OIL furnishes water quenched hardnesses with the lack of distortion associated with oil quenching. It is safe to use as long as the temperature of the oil bath is not allowed to become excessive..."

I doubt you will find too many comparisons to peanut oil or many of the other alternatives that bladesmiths may use since industry has better things to do. The exception may be raw canola oil vs. the Hougton products that incorporate it.
 
Thanks Kevin :thumbup: After posting my questions I stumbled upon some links that took me to SF and a couple of threads related to what we're discussing here.

I'm slowly putting all of the pieces together :)

My question about the ~ speed of peanut oil was more out of trying to understand why some knifemakers like to use it. And for what.

Since the beginning, my choice has been to use engineered quenchants for my knifemaking.

Now I need to research whether or not I can benefit from a pump to agitate my quenchant........ or even vibrate for certain applications
Thanks guys ;)

Having to sleep sucks......... :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top