Heat treating 1035 steel

[Andrew Smith]

I have a couple pieces of 1035 steel laying around and I was wondering what the best way to harden and temper them was. 1035, if I'm not mistaken, does not have a lot of carbon so I need something better than just an oil quench. I don't know anything about brine or super quench.

Thanks,

Andrew

[Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver]

Depends on thickness too. 1/8 inch thick will harden up pretty good in water. Depends on use too, how hard do you need it to be?

[ThomasPowers]

What he said---can't suggest a heat treat without knowing intended use!

[Andrew Smith]

I am going to be using it for a knife. 3/16" and 1/8" thick. I don't mean to sound profound but I am just wanting it as hard as I can get it for a good knife.

Hey nakedanvil, I think I sent you a pm about a touch mark, If you didn't get it let me know.


-Andrew

[Sam Salvati]

1035 for a knife? UGH that will be a poor knife, minimum 1050. Quench in brine, temper at 400F.

[Andrew Smith]

Ya, I thought 1035 was a little low but I was just going to ask and see if it would work if I quenched it in brine or something. Still learning about all of this kinda stuff. Only been blacksmithing and making knives for a year and a half.

[bigfootnampa]

I agree with Sam that for most knives I'd choose another steel. I do like that steel for some of my tools though. I use it often (at least that's what I think I am using) for scythe blades. I don't harden it just use it "as forged" and find it excellent for weed cutting. I like those blades to be soft enough to re-edge with a file and resist chipping. Old lawn mower blades are more likely to be 1095 or so and make very good blade stock. I have done some rough-use chisels from the 1035 stock though and I hardened that in oil and got pretty good performance. Made to chisel gypsum I tested on oak and they worked well. Depending on the intended use, geometry and skillful sharpening can overcome quite a few deficits in ideal material selection. Tempering is less critical with the lower carbon steels and differential hardening (IE hardening only the cutting ends or edges) is more practical. There are lots of good uses for such steels but I wouldn't invest a lot of effort and time in making a high-end knife from such material... it is too easy to get better steel for that.

[Rich Hale]

I see a different side of this; make a knife or three from that steel and then use those knives a lot,,see wot they will do and how they function as knives,,,Knife making really needs testing. As well as documentation of wot you have done. That may sound more advanced than you want to get involved in right now, but trust me ten years from now your record keeping will be valuable as you do not have to repeat anything that did not work out and you may want to repeat some of the items that you liked.

Do this system of making and testing on each and every different kinds of steel that you try. Find out for yourself how each of them stacks up to wot you wish a knife to do.

[SilentBob]

Hi, I have access to a lot of lawn mower blades, the local grass is high in silica so it eats blades. I’m guessing stock removal is the method of shaping the blade but what heat treating would you recommend, should I start testing with water or oil?

[Jeff Seelye]

Not all lawnmower blades are created equaL Spark testing is a good start in finding carbon content.

[Andrew Smith]

thanks, I will try out the brine and then use them a bit and see how they perform. I just had some laying around and I was curious how they would work. I still have a lot to learn.

[pkrankow]

Hi, I have access to a lot of lawn mower blades, the local grass is high in silica so it eats blades. I’m guessing stock removal is the method of shaping the blade but what heat treating would you recommend, should I start testing with water or oil?

Do some research on lawn mower blades. If they are stamped with the part number you may be able to learn what they are. Many are rather exotic with varying composition across the blade.

Phil

[bigfootnampa]

Most of the mower blades I get are pretty high carbon. I find that they will pretty much all harden nicely by oil quenching. I have made some nice knives and chisels from them (as well as other things). The ones that I recycle all seem to be one homogeneous steel. I find that the larger riding mowers have nice thick blades and cheap riders or walk-behinds have thinner blades... I have found uses for both types. As they are used (in the mowers) they seem to be left pretty soft or tempered back quite a ways but harden nicely when I re-heat-treat them.