Heat Treating Knives, Blades etc

So I have a little problem and I am kind of stymied... I bought a bundle of various sized 52100 round stock a few years ago at a blacksmithing event, can't remember the details at the moment. I just recently pulled it out and tested a small piece for a slipjoint knife build. I forged the shape, ground it to near the final thickness, normalized and hardened. Low and behold I barely get 50 HRC... Did it a second time and got virtually the same result---------so I see 3 possibilities: I got sold something that isn't 52100, my heat treat process was totally wrong, or I had massive decarb. I don't think decarb is really the issue because I ground away the surface stee…

So I bought some 1095 hoping to make some knifes out of known steel. But I have made three knifes with it and had problems with all of them. When I went to test them I picked up some pine from the garage floor just to carve a little and see how the knife cuts but it kind of flattened the edge were I cut so I found a knot in the wood and carved that and it chipped the blade. So I figure I did not temper it enogh so today I tempered one of the knifes at 435 degrees for an hour twice and I seem to have the same kind of problem. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Hey guys i tried to post this in a topic i already had goin but after a few tries it wouldnt post thats why i am trying to see if i can make a new topic...i guess the site is acting funny again so i am cunfused on one thing when you normalize and do 3 heats how far do you let it cool between each heat i thought you heat till non magnetic let it cool slowly in "still air" until its room temp then repete twice that is what i did but now i have been told that your suposed to heat till non magnetic then take out of the forge just for a second or 2 until the color leaves and as soon as it turns black it goes back in forge and the last heat is the only one that cools to ro…

Old leaf spring so I am assuming it's 5160. I forged out a 5/8" x 0.2" flat bar on the power hammer. I plasma cut 1" long sections and tested a rang of different temps from 1550 to 1465 followed by room temp peanut oil quench in about 5/8 gallon jug. I tested each piece in 6 different spots on the rockwell hardness tester and found my best result of a 62 RC average with 1475. So I then forged a knife from this same leaf, ground it to rough shape, went with the 1475 and quenched into 4 gallons of rom temp peanut oil. I only got to 45 RC and tried different Temps and also agitated the oil with a drill and paint mixer. Still only 45 RC. So I then water quenched and the bevel…

I've made a few knives and lots of flint and steel strikers. Some of the knives are 1084 and some are 1095. The strikers were made from worn out files. The blade are about 6 inches long not counting the tang. Some hidden tang, some full tang. The blade height is usually about one inch. I would like to try making a knife with the spine hard enough to throw sparks when struck with a piece of flint. Does anyone have a suggestion how to heat treat a blade so the edge and spine are hard and leave some softer steel near the middle to reduce the overall brittleness?

I am fairly new to knife making and so far all of my experience is in stock removal. I want to move on to forging and I plan to use gas, but I'm wondering what advantages there are to having a heat treating oven in addition to a gas forge. Can someone help me understand the cons of using a gas forge for everything, and the added pros of having a heat treat oven? I'd also appreciate a little insight into the advantages of open end port forges vs forges with solid doors... I assume that with open ports I can heat longer pieces of metal and billets with welded-on handles, but I'm sure I'm missing the fine points if not the fundamentals... -Ian

So Im starting a little experiment for making a billet of cable Damascus out of some atv winch cable and have a quick question. The cable has been well used and kept on the spool a good long while and after getting it off of the drum its keeps trying to twist up on itself and I was wondering if it would mess with the strength of the steel to use a couple of fencing nails and a 2x4 and stretching it straight then taking my oxy torch and heating the cable till it relaxes then letting it air cool?

I have acquired a half full 55gal barrel of Carbonizing material ( free is free) it appears to be hard charcoal or maybe coke. I do not think it has to be stored anyway special, right now it is in a cardboard barrel and I need to reduce it's foot print. Before I transfer it to 5 gal pails is anyone aware of anything special in hows it stored?

I have a few pounds of kitty litter left over from patching my forge. I mixed the kitty litter with course sand and the patches held up well. I would like to use differential heating some knife blades (1084 and/or 1095 steel) to get a hard cutting edge and a soft spine. I know Satinite and/or various brands of furnace cement and/or refractory mortars are available, but I would like to try some home brewed material. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I came across this video on youtube and wanted to share. I was unaware you could buy a set of files with varying hardness to test the hardness of steel. The guy took mild steel bar and put it in a foil pouch with sugar and bakes at 1700 for 4 hours, then quenched in water getting a harness of 55R approximately. Quenching in oil did not harden. Sticking a hot blank in sugar also did not harden. If you have a kiln I could see this as useful for marginal stuff like rail road spike knifes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvkmmoXriNI

Hello everyone, Okay, I'll make a full confession right off the bat and get it out of the way. I'm VERY new to blacksmithing, haven't actually finished my first set of tongs yet (because it turns out I'll have to adapt my forge to allow more room for them), and I've been happily banging away at a knife...in spite of the very clear (and without doubt very reasonable) warning that making knives is a TERRIBLE place to start forging. (waves at Frosty and ThomasPowers). I've read many times that you like pictures, so I'll explain my problem with a run-down of where I'm at... 1) Old (non-identified) file wanted to become a knife....I start carressing it to shape with my hammer.…

I'm working on a chunky quasi-wakizashi for the USN Gathering coming up with alarming rapidity, and thought I would document something interesting that happens when I do a quasi-Japanese blade. My apologies for the quality of the cell phone pictures. One of the factors to take into consideration when making a Japanese-style blade is the sori, or amount of curvature that is formed during heat treatment. In a traditional blade using tamahagane steel in a water quench, the blade is straight when it come out of the fire and curves first down toward the edge then up toward the spine. It can be very stressful and there's a high rate of traditional blades tearing themselves apa…

So I have been making knives for a few years now, mostly stock removal and just looking into forging them (coal forge and hammer). I know when I get the blade down close to the size and general shape I put it in my propane forge until non magnetc (1084 steel) and need to quench the metal after heating (I use Transmission oil). I have been looking at the forum for some time and I never see anything about quenching or heat treatment. I know when I pull the metal out of the forge for knife making the steel is brittle until I temper it. Do you guys temper your stuff (projects, tools etc)> and if you do how are you doing it?

I got curious about the composition of the High Temperature Mortars used in hardening and creating Hamon on blades. I had my own expectations as to what I would find based on my playing with Raku pottery processes. >>> Disclaimer<<< This information is offered in good faith as typical values and not as a product specification. No warranty either expressed or implied, is hereby made. Industrial hygiene and safe handling procedures are always required. However, each user should review the specific context of the intended use and determine if they are appropriate and safe. <<<<<<<< A typical formula found from rev…

Hi folks. I just started playing around with knife-making with some truck leaf spring. I think I have the gist on how to quench and heat-treat for a serviceable knife (time will tell). A Marine friend of mine asked if I could make him a SUPER HEAVY EOD-style knife. It would be about 1/4" thick, 11" long, blunted flat tip, and made to take serious abuse (prying car doors open and such). In short: It would be more of a heavy sharp prying tool than a 'knife'. Any advice on how to quench/heat treat some forged truck leaf spring to make a "knife-tool" that can handle this kind of abuse? Thanks all!

I will be using this steel to make a neck knife for work. The only question i have is, am not sure what kind of knife makers quenching oil i should get. I know they have several different kinds for example a slow cooling quench oil or a fast quench oil. Would this oil be good http://www.knifemaking.com/product-p/bs101.htm it is Chevron Texaco 70 Quench Oil 1 Gallon. Premium quality quenching oil designed to provide controlled cooling of steel which is important in steel hardening. When quenching is started, Chevron Quenching Oil 70 provides a high initial cooling rate inducing maximum hardness, yet once the critical transformation temperature is passed, the ideal fluid c…

Hello is there a guide available on the internet for annealing and tempering high carbon steel such as 1080 etc and i see people choosing to Temper in an electric Oven but is it possible to do so in a slow cooker mine goes up to 450F thanks

Before posting this I went back and re-read the stickies on HT - well done, Steve Sells. I've done heat treating before, but it's my least favorite part of making a blade. I have about 10 blades in various stages of completion right now, so I took time over the weekend to move some towards the finish line. I did a heat treat on three file knives (Nicholson) and a large blade made from a rail road clip (approximately 1055ish). Took all the blades up past magnetic (I did them one at a time). I use a propane forge. Quenched the files in non-detergent motor oil (40 weight if memory serves correctly). (The other knife was quenched in water - it had already failed a HT in oi…

This was a design I first seen being used by Jesvs Hernendez. Using the inside tank of a water heater, some kaowool and a lot of 304SS! This is just pre-heating to my desired temp for W2 ht, with a W2 kitchen knife just inserted. With a needle valve I am able to pretty much hold any temp between 1100 to 1700F and leave it there indefinately. The large volume allows for very even heating, zero heatspots, and being horizontal, no heat gradiants.

Hi Guys: I recently got my hands on a 3' long section of tugboat tow wire from my job. I want to try my hand at forge welding a short piece of a single strand into a pattern welded billet and make a small knife and also try etching. The wire certificate states the wire is 2" dia 6x37 EIP IWRC -- this scrap is non galvanized (unlike most tow wires). There is some surface rust - but also tar/grease that will burn out. So I get from research - EIP - Extra Improved Plow Steel IWRC - Independent Wire Rope Core EIP links i looked at show it to be somewhere between 1065 to 1085 steel. Is this worth a try to practice on? - or am I wasting my time and should look for an easier…

Hey everyone, I've started building a heat treat oven. I have the shell made and the insulation bricks but I found out there are two types of PID controllers, basic or ramp and sock. I make Damascus and pattern welded knives but want to make move into long swords, I need to know what PID controller is best for this and what is the difference between the two. Another thing is the heating elements. I live in the UK and I can't find them anywhere preferably kanthal A1, kanthal wire can be bought online but I want good quality wire and have them pre twistedtwisted. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I've been working on a tanto made from 80crv2 (I plan to use 1080/1095 in the future) and have gotten already carved the tsuka and made the habaki and fuchi, so I did the final polish on the blade. Earlier, when I tried to sign the tang with a chisel, it would barely make a mark and dulled the chisel. I had a little more luck with a center punch, but it had to be resharpened along the way. At the time I thought it was just the difference between a high carbon steel and the mid steel I had practiced signing on, but when I went to drill the nakago ana, the cut about 1/16 of an inch in then wouldn't go any further (even with the drill press on the slowest speed, using a slow…

Hello, I recently acquired 5 large saw blades. They're not circular but in a shape of a ''flat sheet metal with teeth on one end''. 2,3mm thick and the blade is made out of one piece (teeth not coated with anything or nothing...). They have been used at local wood processing company and they had to replace it, so I jumped in and without any questions they happily handed me 5 of these blades. Now, that is quite a substantial amount of steel that could prove to be great. The blades have these number etched on them: 5p/8001065-60.1 Could it be that the number 1065 is an identification of the steel? Shouldn't that kind of blade be made out of some kind of high speed steel and…

So I took my first whack at heat treating this weekend, and while I was able to successfully harden the steel, I ended up with some warping. I forgot to take pictures, so I will add those later today once I get back home. However, there are a few odd things to this, I think I have it figured out as to the cause, however I would like some second opinions on my very newbish knowledge of the process. First off is the manner of the warp, I treated 5 pieces Sunday, 4 of which were " identical " blade profiles, of very similar thickness, The warping on these blades is also similar, each one warps to the right ( if looking down the edge with the point away from you ) slightl…

I forged a couple of knifes from 1084 steel and hardened them at the forge. The dimensions are 1/8 th of and inch at the spine, about 1 inch wide and 6 inches long excluding the stick tang. I brought them home to temper them in my gas oven. I was aiming at 450 degrees. I put them on a rack in the middle of the stove and put a thermocouple probe next to them. (Klein tools multimeter MM200) I set the oven to 450 degrees and monitored the temperature as indicated on the multimeter. I found the oven temperature varying by plus and minus about 50 degrees around the 450 degree setting so I reset the oven to about 400 degrees and let it cycle up and down for about a half hour…