Quenching in foil

petie

Well-Known Member
Can 0-1 be left in stainless foil and be quenched properly? I'm out of heat treat paint and have 6 knives left to heat treat. I've got a whole roll of foil and was wondering if I could leave the knives in the foil and quench them without affecting the hardness.
 
I don't think many would recommend it. To use the foil, I do a "pouch/cap" system. By this I mean:
-Make a pouch like you normally would to totally enclose a blade, but a little longer
-Cut the pouch near where the tang would be, about a 1/4 of the tang sticking out of the end
-With the excess foil you cut off, slip that over the tang to where it slides over the end of the tang and also goes over the main foil a little ways
-Wrap a strip of paper around the tang before putting the "cap" on
-When you are ready to quench, grab the "cap" and tang of the knife with your pliers/tongs, pull the knife out of the "pouch" (you will have to grab the foil pouch at the very tip with another pair of pliers, and then quench the blade (the "cap" will still be on the tang).

This is the method I have been using lately. It might or might not adapt to your HT procedure. Good luck.
 
Hi Walter,
How does the cap seal the foil off good enough to keep the air out, is that what the paper wrap is all about? Sound like a neat trick and worth trying ! I have been wrapping 2-3 blades in a over sized packet, snip the tang end of the packet and let the blades drop into the oil, I have a basket in my oil pail that I use to aggitate the blades up & down. Wish they had spell check on here for us dummies!
Take care,
Clint
 
I have never really had a problem with the seal issue, but I guess I don't know how to judge how much decarb has really occurred. I am sure there has to be some that occurs since it is not totally enclosed. There has never been any scale or anything like not using any foil. When making the "cap", make sure that it will slide over the tang/pouch about one inch. Right in that junction is where I wrap the paper on the tang. You can kind of bend the main foil pouch slightly at the top so the cap will slide onto it easier and not hang up on the corner. Kind of hard to explain, but it is simple. Maybe it isn't the best way, but it has been working.

Owen Wood first told me how to do it. When I just visited Largent, I was explaining my method and he is the one who told me to leave the cap on when grabbing the knife for quenching. It saves time trying to fumble with the packet. I used to open the oven, quickly remove the cap, let the oven come back up to temp and then grab the tang/pull off the pouch and then quench. Sometimes it just takes a slap to the face to realize stuff.
 
Thanks for the description ! I understand enough to give this a try now. Should be the solution for oil quenching ATS-34 & 154CM. Looking forward to have you visit my shop!
Sincerely,
Clint Sampson
 
Clint,
I guess I was assuming that we were all talking about O-1 or similar steels with short soak times, if any. I can see your concern with the pouce not producing a full seal using the cap & pouch system. With the recipe I am using now for stainless, the blades are in the oven for a long time when you factor in ramp times and soak times. I only use the cap & pouch on O-1 and my damascus. I don't think I would do it on stainless. I use the aluminum plate quench method, so I fully wrap each blade then go right to the plates with the foil on. I guess you could try it, but if you oil quench your stainless, then your method might be best suited.
 
Sorry for getting the tread off track, your right you were talking O-1. I will still try the cap foil system on the stainless just to satisfy my curiosity.
Sincerely,
Clint Sampson
 
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