I'm trying to heat treat 3 knives out of 1095 and I'm having issues with it. I have a propane forge with 2 burners. I have no issues getting the steel up to temp. I do not have anything to monitor the exact temperature so I've just been going to non magnetic and then quenching in canola oil, heated to 135 degrees. When I take the knife out, I test it by scraping it with a file and the file always digs in. I have looked up videos, looked on message boards and I am doing exactly the same thing as everyone else (and in many cases the exact same setup) and the steel is not getting any harder. Does anyone know what I might be doing wrong? I'm so close to throwing in the towel and sending it off to get heat treated.

Thanks for your help.

you might just have a decarb problem from being up to heat while forging. since it appears you are starting out you might be using more time to finish forging than someone with more experence. I think if I were in your place I would try taking one of the knives I had hardened and file some of the bevel to see if it might be harder after I got past the surface.

If you read the Heat treating information here in the knife section, you will notice you should heat to 100 degrees past non magnetic.  I will  relocate this thread there for easier location of that information, also 1095 like a short soak time before the quench