First (completed) Knife

[syfiguy99]

Finally got around to posting it, here it is my first knife not perfect but i cut my self on it so it works.

I forged it from a rail road spike quenched it in motor oil and did detail work with belt sander and file.

[Malice9610]

My first knife was also a rail spike knife. 

I keep seeing this style of knife with the curved handle and have decided I must attempt one ( I am quite new to this stuff ) in the near future. 

But it looks good, Your next one will look better as Im sure you learned a few things making this one to make the next one easier. 

[Michael Cochran]

It looks pretty good. I have to ask why did you quench a railroad spike in motor oil? Rail spikes don't have enough carbon to make it worth it unless you mix up some superquench then it might work fine for a while. Motor oil shouldn't be used its nasty stuff, try veggie canola etc oil. It'll be much less bad for your health and it don't smell too bad either.

[Malice9610]

After reading M Cochran's I realize I must have been more tired then I thought I was last night. 

he makes a valid point, more healthy to use standard veggie oil then motor oil, even if its brand new motor oil..  

And with Veggie Oil, it smells like a french fry fryer.. 

 

[syfiguy99]

 OK I will try the veggie oil thank you for the constructive criticism  reason i quinched the RR spike is one of the many sources on the internet said I should, should have checked around some more  Thanks again

[Charles R. Stevens]

oil is a good bet on any tool steel in thin sections, but as spikr is low carbon/mild steel...

stay away from penut oil, you may not be alergic but some one else might, some folks so much that the burnt on residue or the smoke can efect them. Olive and canola (canola has a higher smoke point I belive) 

Edited May 25, 2015 by Charles R. Stevens

[Frosty]

I pick up quench oil at the local super market, from the kitchen. They have to change out the fryer oil pretty frequently and have no problem filling a 5gl. gerry can. I tell them what I use it for and they pass it to me instead of the guy who makes bio diesel from it.

I'd really rather use oil from a donut shop but the last one locally closed down a year ago. I'd rather the shop smell like donuts than old chicken nuggets. Oh well, it's cheap and works a treat. They use Canola as it lasts longer, has a lower smoke and flash temp.

Frosty The Lucky.

[BlackthornForge]

It looks pretty good. I have to ask why did you quench a railroad spike in motor oil? Rail spikes don't have enough carbon to make it worth it unless you mix up some superquench then it might work fine for a while. Motor oil shouldn't be used its nasty stuff, try veggie canola etc oil. It'll be much less bad for your health and it don't smell too bad either.

As terrible as it is, I use used semi truck oil as a quench for RR spikes.  I find that the carbon case hardens RR spikes pretty well, and whatever other crap is in the oil smoke feels like a massage for my lungs...  I do wear a chemical respirator to keep the gunk out of me, but it's free and like I said, it case-hardens nicely.

[Frosty]

As much as I disrecommend motor oil as a quenchant it doesn't smoke much if you plunge the blade entirely under the surface quickly. Dropping one and it hardly pfts a puff, it's no the way you want to quench a blade but I've dropped things in oil. I've made things like chisels and punches and more recently heat treated dies for my LG.

Fast plunge minimizes smoke no matter what the oil.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Steve Sells]

As terrible as it is, I use used semi truck oil as a quench for RR spikes.  I find that the carbon case hardens RR spikes pretty well, and whatever other crap is in the oil smoke feels like a massage for my lungs...  I do wear a chemical respirator to keep the gunk out of me, but it's free and like I said, it case-hardens nicely.

I call Bull on both counts.  I want to see proof.

RR spikes are less than 0.3 carbon    Used motor oil is a slow death sentence to breath, and no way is there enough carbon in any used oil to be able to case harden anything.  To case harden a 0.3 steel would need a solution of over 0.3 carbon to be able to add to that it at all, and you really need a lot more to raise the carbon content of the steel high enough to actually harden, which would be an end result of 0.5 or more to be useful.  Add in the lack of time and temp for it to happen in a quench, and I call you on it. 

We deal in facts here not fairy tails.

[Nobody Special]

Looks better than my first....and probably my second. Motor oil.....yum. Because I love the smell of carcinogens in the morning...it hardens, I'll give it that; not mild steel of course. Only thing I like to use it for is the "cool patina". But then, I try to avoid the pitted black mark look unless specifically asked for by someone. 

[BlackthornForge]

I call Bull on both counts.  I want to see proof.

RR spikes are less than 0.3 carbon    Used motor oil is a slow death sentence to breath, and no way is there enough carbon in any used oil to be able to case harden anything.  To case harden a 0.3 steel would need a solution of over 0.3 carbon to be able to add to that it at all, and you really need a lot more to raise the carbon content of the steel high enough to actually harden, which would be an end result of 0.5 or more to be useful.  Add in the lack of time and temp for it to happen in a quench, and I call you on it. 

We deal in facts here not fairy tails.

Don't have solid proof for ya, Steve, all I know is that my spikes seem to hold up to a lot more abuse since I started using the oil.  Could be something else I'm doing differently I suppose but I don't know what it'd be.

[ThomasPowers]

Could be that they are just quenching a bit better.  Case hardening is a time and temperature deal. How many minutes/hours are you keeping red hot steel in the oil (at red hot temps)?  Have you compared them to ones quenched in brine or super quench?  Sounds like you have noticed a difference and then ascribed it to something that's just not possible.  Might as well ascribe the better use life to demonic possession; or angelic grace or the alignment of the planets.

I have case hardened wrought iron till it had over 2% C and was useless; as I recall I kept it in a sealed container of powdered charcoal for 20 hours at gas forge temperatures, ramping not included.