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i bought the quench oil last year and haven't looked back. :biggrin: Repeatable consistent results. I do a lot of hamons with W2, and hitachi steel, so it is worth the investment for me. warren

I find myself in this predicament fairly often. As an example, do you buy a $180 pail of quench oil to harden the steel I bout for $15.00, or is it easier just to buy a new bar of steel? Last year, I was looking up what welding rods I could use to save an O1 blank I cracked, about $3.00 of...

It never hurts to normalize and grain refine. It's a good idea to use foil for this to prevent decarb. You could just re heat treat, but it's a good idea to learn to do the best you can early on.

you have a kiln so you have half the battle won! You can control your heat! Another quench option is brine for three seconds, then into the oil to finish. It's riskier, but will get you past the nose, and the second half of the quench will be slower, and more forgiving.

1084/1075 are much easier to heat treat. I have used 1095 from two reputable suppliers, and it requires good temp control, and a commercial fast quenchant or if you are willing to risk it, brine. I find W2 gets a more dramatic hamon, and for kitchen knives, Hitachi White has much more curb...

You will probably get a hamon regardless of what you do based on the carbon content. If you are worried about broken blades, try three or 4 seconds in brine, then finish in oil. To avoid the curve in hardening, maybe try spine first and see how that works?

Kevin, I had some problems when I started out with chipping, and I cracked two blades. These events were connected to poor heat control and improper quench mediums. Once I was able to get better control over the heat treat, I could start experimenting through controlling different variables, and...

My experimenting with steels suggests that many people temper to lower hardness than is needed. We are making knives here, not pry bars, or leaf springs! I have had no difficulty with O1, W2, 52100, 15N20, or AEB-L at Rc62 in general use. When I see Rc58/59 advertised in a skinner or EDC, I...

Flex is about geometry, not heat treat (for the most part.) A heat treated blade will take the same amount of force to bend as an untreated blade, but the untreated blade will take a set sooner. 0.070 may be on the upper edge of thickness for a fillet knife. I don't have a lot of experience with...

The riskiest part of the quench is the second half, which is where the commercial oils shine. They are almost as fast as brine for the first half, then are slower for the second half. Brine is fast for the first half, but it gets faster for the second half as the vapour jacket collapses. This is...

I use DT 48 too. I got it because I found it at a local supplier here in Alberta, whereas I could not find the parks 50.

I used an interrupted brine quench while waiting for my fast oil. It's risky, but a place to start us 3 seconds in, three seconds out, and finish with the oil.

I searched for months without luck. I e-mailed numerous places and called many others. I found out later there is a company in Vancouver who sells them, but shipping was still $300.00 when I called them, and they do not ship to residential addresses.

Shipping quotes to Canada on similar items (bench top) were $450.00 to $600.00, not including brokerage. The Tx model was $25.00 to ship. It works quite well and seems quite accurate in the low to mid 60's.

That's the one I have. I'm happy with it and would recommend it. I would prefer a benchtop, but shipping was prohibitive for me.

My tester lists the same 1.5 variance. When I get below Rc50, it seems to be out by 1.0 or more. Right around Rc60, it seems to be within Rc0.5. The testers are more accurate in a certain portion of the range, and mine is good where I need it to be.

I do a lot of long thin blades, and it is important to keep the steel cool with frequent dunking or misting, and secondly using an even number of passes on each side. I do most kitchen knives with asymmetrical grinds, and if I get a noticeable pull to one side, I stick it in the kiln flat on its...

Those of us in Canuckistan are bilingual with temp measurement.

I assumed the numbers were a conversion from a Celsius measured oven.

I too found lower tempering temps are needed for Hitachi white steel. I find it's interesting since it tempers lower than W2 or 1095, considering how similar the composition is to 1095.