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Instead of steel wool, try powdered abrasives (I get mine on ebay- 1500g) or try automotive rubbing compound. You probably want to temper at 425f too, then check for edge chipping. 300f is pretty low for W2. You are getting there. Keep it up. :happy:

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W2 is fine at Rc61+. You get Rc61 thempering at 450f. It's a pretty amazing steel. It it takes a bit more elbow grease to finish than 1075/1084, but it's about the same as O1 or 52100 at the same hardness.

I don't make the clay thicker toward the edge. I'm not sure if anyone else does, but I've never heard anyone comment on doing that. With a hamon, less is more. Less clay and less heat. You want just enough to get the job done. Too much clay will result in a heat sink that can wash out the...

As anyone who works with hamons knows, its a love/hate thing. If you can accept that it won't always work the way you want it to, the it gets less frustrating. 3/16" , distal taper, and careful clay application are great, and the brine/oil combo will get you closer. The next thing is to look...

Why don't you do a trial of three simple blade like objects ground as a wedge shape. Try brine only, brine then oil, then oil only. You will get a sense of what each does and does not do for you.

Interrupting the quench can give you extra activity not related to the clay line. I do a few hamons simply by controlling the heat in the steel, and cooling the thinner areas, but interrupting so the thicker areas cool slower, and therefore not forming martensite. The transition looks more like...

While many think old = good steel, WWII used a lot of steel, making good steel harder to come by in the 40's. I'm no expert on files and rasps, but there is great variability in the steel from the little I know. You might want to try 1550, or even 1600 quenched in brine. If they are lower...

that's what I do. :happy: I do 325f temper first, check the hardness, and adjust. I've left the blades in for 1h in subzero, but it's probably not needed.

I follow this information: http://www.alphaknifesupply.com/zdata-bladesteelS-AEBL.htm Rc #'s come out dead on the money if your equipment is accurate.

Power buffing washes out the Hamon in my experience. You want to buff lightly by hand. You want to remove the oxides on the surface, but you don't want to a race away the fine structures that cause the visual effect. The other thing that is really important is making sure you are completely past...

I do both the steels basically the same, but use 15f lower for the W2 (1460f vs 1475) as I typically choose W2 for differential hardening, and 52100 for deep hardening. I mistakenly left the W2 in the oven between cycles previously, which cools too slowly for a hypereuctoid and can result in...

I have a question. With W2, I have put blades in stainless foil, and cycled with my kiln through 1650f 10min, 800f 10 min, 1550f 10min, 800f 10min, 1450f 10min, 800f 10min, then 1200f 45min, then cool to room temp. I have let the oven cycle on its own, so cooling between cycles would be slower...

The variable I would look at is the length of time in the brine. If you can measure the temp of the brine, then keep that variable the same for each quench, you will learn the max time in the brine. On a smaller blade like these, a couple seconds is probably enough, and if you find cracking at 4...

It looks like you might have some decarb still on the flats. It would work a lot better sanded by hand than off the grinder. There is a lot more activity in there than you see right now. I can guarantee that. The placement of the line is pretty dams good for such an early attempt. Way to go!

I agree, don't give up. I posted a brief tutorial in the Hammond hamon thread that describes my process, and you will find yours. Its a great first effort. Put a handle on it, and put it in the knife drawer in the kitchen, or in the tool box. If you want to fix it up, you need to get out the...

Here is some info on hamon patterns. I tend to go for Hitatsura and Tobiyaki, but I have tried for the Choji, but haven't come close to getting it right. I end up with more of a Gunomi. I always have to look the names up when people reference them. I can never keep them straight in my head. In...

In a round section, you will get a layer of martensite around a softer core. With a wedge, you get differential hardening.

You can do it now. The first temp needs to be relatively soon, as it is the main stress relief and will prevent you from finding a cracked blade the next morning. I recently did another temper on a knife that wasn't finished 6 months after the initial heat treat. I wanted it 1 Rc pint lower.

I went to to the yellow pages and looked up refractories. I found an industrial supplier who would sell small quantities. You may luck out. If not, pm me, and maybe the company I used will ship.