Steve Sells

then assume the rest of my information is also wrong that came from Alro, except for the HRC reading

Looks small, but what about it? I will move this to the bellows section

I got her etched and finished up. Tried a photo using my new light box

A simple way to test for edge retention is by paper or cardboard cutting. Using a stack of paper, see how many times it can be sliced through before the blade gets noticeably dull. This is a little subjective but still a usable measurement. The brass rod test, this is simply pressing the edge of the blade on angle against a brass rod and watching to see the edge flex and return to position after the pressure is released. Be aware that not all metals will flex, some higher alloy steels will chip rather than flex in this test, even when performed correctly Every so often, and every time a major change is made to the blade making process, a blade will need to be taken to its ultimate end. This is the death of every blade tested, why? It is the only way to know what it will take to fail. It is better to find out in the shop what a blade can do, and what makes it fail, than after its in the hand of an end user. Obviously these tests are not done very often, they are selectively done, based on what is needed to be discovered. Chopping nails with a knife shows edge retention under abusive conditions. Use a mallet to drive the blade into the nail. A normal knife is not expected to be used this way, but hitting bone while cleaning game can be almost as destructive to the cutting edge. This is a test of that issue to the extreme. Bending Giving the blade a 90 degree bend or some rotational twisting shows how the heat treat leaves the blade flexible while still having a good cutting edge. Once again under normal use this would never happen, but accidents can occur and people do abuse blades quite often. This shows how well a blade responds. Remember to cover the blade with a section of pipe or an old welding glove to contain any flying pieces when it breaks. Examine the pieces, look at how it broke and the grain exposed on the edges. That will reveal much about the heat treat.

11K btu is kind of on the low side but so is that price. It can balance out General rule is do not publicly post anyone's contact information, a PM to their screen name is acceptable if they are a member.

using 1095 you should be able to get those blades up to the next file of hardness eventually. Dont be afraid to soak hypereutectoid steels for 5 minutes before the quench

According to the specs I looked up: 4140 is stated as requiring between 0.37-.44% carbon, while 4130 is at 0.28 - 0.33% So the variance isnt as broad as I suspected, because I assumed a near overlap in specs, but still 4140 is not going to get much harder than 4130. Fully hardened Brinell hardness of 197 for 1430 to 205 for 4140, The published maximum hardness is just a lab testing, and not a real world spec. I did get one report stating a maximum Rockwell hardness of 54 to 59 HRC for 4140

My money is on Hoof jack

here ya go

my complaint about using boiling brine is its ability to cool before vaporizing issues

I dont think that a boiling liquid is a good way to quench

there is not much of a difference between 4140 and 4130, and surely not 9 RHC points worth, in fact the specs over lap a bit

there is a more involved thread on this at

I suggest buying silver to use, most of the time those old coins are worth more as coinage than silver.

I enjoyed it very much, but a few things were off. Too bad the narrator doesnt know the difference between heating and smelting (around the 6 minute mark) then the comment about straw ash being used to prevent over heating is a bit out there as well as the tempers the blade by quenching statement, It is possible its all translation errors made in the English version of the readers text.