Zpyke

Blue color after part of the heat treat whole process may be cased during the final phaswe..tmepering..and in most cases with blades that wouild indicate a blade that has beensoftening too much with tempering and would not hold an edge properly. You may have glanced through the heat treat informationhere but it is critical for youi to learn both the terminology and the steps involved,,,shoot they are so easy to learn tha4t I did!. But it will take more than a scan or two to get it right.
Now wot i think you likley saw in a blue blade is a blade that was finished entirely,,all heat treat steps and final finishing on the metal work...then it may have been gun blued...most likley hot blued..that makes a dureable finish just like it does on firearms. Any colors as a result of the heat treat process are very thin surface thick only and will not last..they will rub off when putting blade in and out of the sheathe.

 
That makes sense. It goes along with what Maillemaker said that it is purely cosmetic. The sword in the video was basically made for a one time use so it would not have to be very durable. I will look into the gun blue though. Thank you for your help.

Thank you for your help. That is exactly what I was looking for. I just noticed the toast analogy now and that was perfect. It's amazing how quickly you were able to clarify this for me when hours of reading could not answer it. Thank you again.

So if I want the steel to stay blue I would anneal for a longer period of time and then apply a surface protectant?

I have read all about heat treating and tempering but I did not find anything that said the metal would stay blue after it was quenched and the heat treating was finished. So I am confused how the steel would stay blue or if it is even possible.

Is it possible to make a blade stay blue after quenching? I just watched a video that showed Tony Swatton heat treat a sword made out of 5160 spring steel to a blue temper and then when the sword was completely finished it was still that same blue color. I am new to blacksmithing and the heat treating process but from all my research I did not think that was possible. So my question is is it possible? and if it is how is it done?

 

 

 

The part in question is at 3:58

Thank you for the replys. The anvil definitely has life left in it. It's actually in very good shape except for the broken horn. Either way I got it for free so it's a great deal.

I got an anvil from a local scrap yard today that I think is an American Star Anvil (1850-1860). It has a five pointed star on the side of the body and has an oval cavity on the bottom. It has a steel face and either a cast or wrought body. I think it is wrought since the body pings. The only markings on it are the five point star. The handling hole in front is square and the one in back is round. It has no table on the horn which makes me question if its an American star since all the other American Star anvils that I've seen have a table on the horn. Can anyone help me confirm that it is an American Star? Also what would be it's value?

 

Dimensions:
Height: 11 1/2"
Face: 14" x 4 1/4"
Horn: currently 6" but missing tip
Hardy hole: 1 1/4"
Pritchel hole: 1/2"
Star: 3" wide, 2 1/2" tall
Oval Cavity on bottom: 2 1/2" x 1 3/4" x 8 3/4" deep
Notched rear foot: 1 3/4"
Waist: 8 3/4"
weight: 100+ pounds
Rebound: 60%-90%