dwilks Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 These are the first knives i've made, 3 forged from 5160 and the fillet knife was ground out of an air saw blade. New to blades, new to forging, but having a good time figuring it all out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Very nice first projects. The burl handles are particularly nice. You are setting a pretty high standard for a beginner bladesmith. I assume you have some experience working wood or metal in the past to get such a good outcome? How did you do for heat treatment? For me that and blade geometry really define how successful a knife is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwilks Posted December 30, 2017 Author Share Posted December 30, 2017 normalized 3 times, quenched in Canola right at critical temp (lost magnetic so i think i did it right) and dont know if it did any good but the only tempering i did was to bury them in a bucket of sand after the quench and let them slow cool till ambient temp. And yes I have done a little of welding and woodworking in the past. File skated right of of em and they took a good razor edge, hope they hold up. Time will tell. Stabilized Box Elder on the first 2, Maple on the 3rd, and Water Buffalo Horn on the Fillet knife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 Preheated canola to between 120 and 140 deg. F? Only real insurance for knowing you hit critical temperature is to look for decalescence, but loss of magnetism is a good starting point. Just don't hold too long above critical to avoid grain growth. Depending on what temperature you exit the quench bath the burying in a bucket of sand may not have adequately tempered the blades. In the future you may want to use either a kitchen oven or toaster oven (with an oven thermometer) to do your tempering cycle. The pan of sand is a great idea, in the oven, to provide some insurance from hot spots. For starters I would recommend two 1 hr. cycles at 400 deg. F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwilks Posted December 30, 2017 Author Share Posted December 30, 2017 oil was at shop temp (@80 F), didnt realize i needed to heat it. guess i missed that part in my reading and will do some reading about decalescence. Planning on making a quick blade or 3 and do some testing with my heat treating before i make anymore. These 4 were gifts and wont be seeing the abuse that tempering would affect (I hope). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will W. Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 The oil is preheated to change its viscosity and give you a more even quench. Oil, when its warm, is thinner than when its cold. Therefore, the vapor pocket formed during the quench will be removed from around the blade faster. It also helps to gently move the blade up and down (never side to side) in the oil to break up that vapor pocket. I agree, your blades look nice. I would suggest working on your ricasso and plunge lines though. Makes blades look a lot more professional, and IMO function better as well. Though that does depend on the blades intended use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 Table salt melts at critical, which is just above the curi point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 Critical for what steel is the real question..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Let me refraze, most simple steels lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwilks Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 Thanks for the info on quench oil and I definitely need to improve on my plunge lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 IF you really want more information, try reading the pinned posts in the heat treat sections Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwilks Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 Will do. I have already found a TON of information and education in the stickies and by using the ever so handy “search”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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