Tradonme Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I threw my d bit in fire until red then threw in shallow pan of motor oil which combusted then left sit until cool. Now looks black wit a reddish color wondering if annealed properly and if heat treating is more complicated than single bit axe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 You will be well served reading the heat treating sections probably in the bladesmithing section. Yes it's more complicated than just guessing at the temp and throwing it in a SHALLOW! pan of used oil.There's no telling what kind of condition your axe is in now. Yes, anneal it soonest. Then spend some time reading about how to heat treat an axe properly. Lose the motor oil, the smoke is too toxic. Tailor your quenchant to the steel you're using. 5gl is pretty minimal. I took a plastic gerry can to the local Safeway and asked if they'd mind filling it next time they changed out the friers. Telling them I needed it for heat treating in a REAL BLACKSMITH shop got them right on board.My quench oil tank is a 15gl. oil barrel with a lid resting in a 55gl. drum with lid. I preheat the oil with a piece of 2" shaft I heat in the forge and dunk. The lids are fire control and if for some reason the oil boils high enough to escape the 15gl. barrel it WILL NOT escape the 55gl. drum. I have lids to cover both. Out of control fire is NOT YOUR FRIEND.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Can you give a little more info? What steel, how big etc. As frosty pointed out shallow mean not nearly enough. I use over a gallon of veggie oil for small knives less than 8" long and under 1/4" thick. Definitely need to read up on heat treat procedures. It'll help you out in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tradonme Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 I just threw in fire to burn off broken handle long time ago it's 5 lb head 9.5" /3" just need to know if it's annealed because i let it cool after it set oil on fire and left it there to cool. Don't know how to quench to correctly temper both edges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I just threw in fire to burn off broken handle long time ago it's 5 lb head 9.5" /3" just need to know if it's annealed because i let it cool after it set oil on fire and left it there to cool. Don't know how to quench to correctly temper both edgesOkay, good deal. You know you don't know enough to do this correctly. A lot of folk have trouble admitting something that's easily curable. Hit the bladesmithing section related to heat treating. I'm not a bladesmith guy so I can't just post a link, I'd have to start sifting but I'll bet there's an axe subsection already.Pull up a comfy chair, pack a lunch and something to drink you have hours of interesting and VERY information packed reading.I'm not poking shots at you but you need to know enough to ask good questions and understand the answers before we can be of much help. WE LOVE good questions, there's nothing to make a guy think like a good question. You just have a little way to go to be able to ask good questions and understand what the heck we're talking about. Believe me I have to go to the dictionary when the bladesmiths start talking about heat treating, it gets into molecular high energy physics and transitional chemistry. Don't freak out, you really just need to know and understand the operational side not the atomic end. <grin>Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tradonme Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 Well didn't mean temper but to harden same concept all I'm asking is if I quenched the whole d bit axe would that ruin ability to correctly temper each edge because it differs from one edge where all I have to do is quench the one edge until the certain color appears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 See? You don't know enough to even ask the right questions. Yeah, in an incredibly WIDE sense hardening and tempering are the "same" concept. Heat treatment is the correct term for the category.No, you can NOT QUENCH till the right color appears. That's NOT how it works. Watching for the right color to run is tempering and NO you don't quench to temper. You quench to harden. THEN you temper.Do know how you want it tempered? Do you know how many different ways there are to temper a blade?If you lived close enough to visit I could heat treat your axe head in a whole lot less time than I've spent writing these responses. And better yet with you standing there watching and listening you'd walk away with a well heat treated axe head, (sure, not optimally heat treated but it'd be useable and SAFE. Safe being the prime goal) AND an intro into heat treatment. And that's it, just an INTRODUCTION you'd be a long ways form mastering heat treating.If all you're interested in is a shortcut to a safe axe blade heat treat you're asking the wrong people I WILL NOT lie to you and tell you the "SECRET." Well, okay I will tell you THE secret. Knowledge and practice OR send it to a professional heat treater. Of course that's not what you want but this isn't D&D or World of Warcraft.Do some reading where it counts, REAL research and I'll talk to you some more.Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Temper and harden are not the same thing. I by no mean want you to misunderstand me but even though there are several guys on here who can help, I would suggest also checking out the guys at bladesmithsforum.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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