Hello there, For some time now I have been under the impression that normalizing was all that was needed before quenching,
But I have recently been watching videos of Japanese Smiths, And have realized that allot of them do not do the standard normalize and quench routine,
Instead they:
1. Normalize the blade 2-3 times
2. Then proceed to Anneal the blade by heating it to a "low temp", And then placing it in a container of ash("Straw Ash") for upwards of 3 hours,
3. Then some of them, Not all, Even proceed to Cold Work(Forge?) the blade, Which from some other information I have been reading says that it can improve the structure of the steel even after normalizing it.
I have also seen a few videos from a Russian Smith/Crafter who says to always Anneal a blade before quenching it, He accomplishes this by heating it in a a small gas forge, Then turning off the gas and sealing the forge for upwards of 6 hours, Or until room temperature.
In asking this question I am hoping to get more information on annealing before quenching, And more hopefully on annealing after normalizing, And on cold working(forging?) before quenching.
As these Smiths only speak Japanese( Most are them are actually silent for the whole video, Such that i cannot even use youtube with translated subtitles), So I have limited information to run on, Hence why i am asking here.
On a side note I picked up a neat trick from the Russian, That you can take a blade after quenching, And tempering, You tie the tang to a piece of string and give the blade a good tap with something metal, If it rings clearly then you know that it has no internal cracking.
To those of you answering this question, Thank you for taking the time out to help Me, I am a novice smith and appreciate the help.
Thank you.
