Something-with-which-to-take-the-knife-in-and-out-of-the-fire-with-without-losing-any-fingers. Lol, I'm desperate lol, Reply Differential heat treatment (also called selective heat treatment or local heat treatment) is a technique used during heat treating to harden or soften certain areas of a steel object, creating a difference in hardness between these areas. If you are feeling especially redneck, I'll mention that you can actually use regular wood (anything will get hot enough with a lot of air on it), but it is more difficult and burns faster, so you'll need a lot more of it. You will need to employ an old technique called case hardening. If all went well, the file should feel glassy as it slides across the bevel. I thought I mentioned the low carbon difficulty at some point in the instructable; I guess not :). After the blade has been quenched, its hardness is still not suitable for usage. Thanks for uploading this, im working on my first knife and heat treating is the only thing i have left to do. All three of these names refer to a fireproof box that gets hot. Building Giant Articulated Hands (carved From Wood for Social Distancing). After all, you don't want half the blade hardened and have the tip bend when you look at it wrong. I got sticker shock when I was looking at a premade forge ect. It's religion to some people ;o). It does make sense in the way that motor oil is designed to do a very different job than proper quenching oil. Pour in water or vegetable oil so it’s 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) from the rim of the container. (although I recommend you get creative). Whatever method you used,the final bevel should be on the blade and the surface should be brought to the desired finish. - one mild or high carbon steel knife blank (forged or stock removal) This guy has a bunch of videos on his page and a link in this video will give you the basic tools and things to get your son started... good luck and hope he enjoys knife making :), Tip You can produce a decent blade the same way smiths have been doing it for thousands of years. (Man, am I going to be raked over the coals for saying that). I fear they use their heat treating process labels loosely around here. Straw yellow is the highest heat level a … Don't do that. 2 years ago. I generally agitate it back and forth inside the oil, to break up any air bubbles that may have caught in there and make sure that blade is cooling evenly. Trust me, you will be wanting them. Sorry, but this method will not work with any kind of stainless steel, or any of the more complicated "super steels". Reply The heat treating method is the same for knives made from forging, or stock removal. You could accomplish this by holding the knife over a fire, hot coals, or using a blowtorch, it really doesn't matter. A Note on Tempering: Every article I have read on tempering gives a notice to knife makers who choose to use their kitchen's conventional oven for tempering. When it stops sticking to the magnet, you know you are close. Interesting . I learned this method from $50 Knife Shop by Wayne Goddard. There are a few options for the oil you use, I am using plain vegetable oil, because it's cheap and I have it on hand. This seems to get off the majority of the oil, and I have never noticed a smokey smell. Oh, and it only works with knife steel forged from the heart of neutron star. I saw the El Chete knife and thought it would be a fun project. Jeez, yeah, EVERYBODY has their own secret quench recipe :) Thanks for the info, I'll take your word for it. This is done by heat treating. After you have heat treated a few knives, you will be able to tell roughly what temperature the steel is based on the color. When the bubbling and hissing of the oil subsides (around 45 seconds, time is not critical here) pull the blade out and allow it to cool in open air. For this simple heat treating method, you won't need much. This means it hardens rapidly compared to other tool steels, making heat treatment potentially difficult. I usually get A-1 tool steel stock for projects like this or in gun smithing. It gets hotter, heats up faster, and is easier to use. That is called an interrupted quench. - Visegrip pliers or tongs Thanks for the compliments. You can make a “good” knife out of it, but it is hard to make a “great” knife without … The edge is the thinnest part of the blade, and therefore more prone to cracking during the quench. Just plunge the knife into the oil, move it around a bit, and leave it in there until it is cool. Steel becomes non-magnetic at critical temperatures, so torch it, test it against the magnet, and let it cool to room temperature three times to normalize it. I am using some long handled pliers and welding gloves. The spine? Without this step, the steel would be too soft to retain an edge for long. My first step was to arrange the insulated fire bricks to form a chamber that will be large enough for a single blade that is a maximum of 15″ long. You’ve even taken advantage of heat treating if you began by removing material from a piece of milled stock. Update: There are coatings that prevent oxidation and carbon loss at www.rosemill.com that promise to make home heat treating a more successful endeavor. It gets expensive because you need to weld a case, put the part in it with the hardening powder, then heat it extensively in a kiln which is expensive on the electricity supply. Don't underestimate the power of this forge. Grid View List View. However, that doesn't mean you are dependent on them to end up with a good knife. Heat the blade evenly and touch it to a magnet to test its temperature. Yes, I hope this will get some people out into the shop! And if you find you were half a degree off, well then, your knife is simply sub-standard. Please help me so I can avoid this in the future. The first thing you need to do is decide on a style that suits your needs and your purpose. There are a number of methods you could use to accomplish this, but the easiest (and best for beginners) is to put it in the oven @ 400 degrees for two cycles of one hour each, letting the knife cool between cycles; or until the steel has turned a wheat/golden/brown color. The heating element is busted, but as we just want the air it doesn't matter. The heat treatment process involves normalizing, quenching and tempering, and results in a specific hardness depending on temperatures used. You will still see the color appear from the tempering process, but there isn't enough carbon present for the metal to harden properly. I just heat treated and tempered my blade to brown/straw as you showed here, but the edge was still too fragile and the tip broke. Heat to 1500, soak 10 minutes. Heating treating the knife … Getting the whole blade evenly heated to critical temperature is the challenge. Until then, you'll just have to trust me; 1500 degrees (what you are aiming for), is a cherry red color which comes just after the metal first starts to glow. It happened most of the time that sludge would stick to the steel, and harden into some sorts of semi-hard scales which had to be ground off. In fact he's obsessed with it and wants to start giving knife forging a go. In order for the oil to provide the right qualities for quenching, it needs to be warmed. okay, after reading this, there are some guides I can add. Quenching and Tempering refer to two specific heat treating processes. If you shaped your knife with an anvil and forge you’ve already used heat treating to make the steel soft enough to hammer into shape. When the blade comes out of the forge, you should move it into the oil slowly enough not to splash oil, and quickly enough not to lose significant heat. Be prompt about it. Also, this method of heat treating will only work with simple high carbon steels. There are chemists that will explain in great detail why it's not a good idea, and there'll be a lot of guys telling about their own experiences. Salt melts at 1474 degrees, so as soon as the salt melts, you know it has hit critical temperature. You can heat it up on your stove if you like, the way I did it was by heating a piece of rebar in the forge, and then dunking that into my quench. That said, it’s also going to make it a lot harder to file or sand down, so make sure you’re happy with your knife before you treat it. But as I said, getting the steel to critical temp isn't very difficult. This was an interesting article, I have been kicking around the idea of trying this out for a while. Before you even start up the forge for the quench, prepare your work area by laying out all the tools and equipment you will need for the process. I have found it happens more with laminated steels and the twisted damascus types. Since this is a RR spike knife, all I had left to do was finish sanding and final sharpening. - kitchen oven Just plunge the knife into the oil, move it around a bit, and leave it in there until it is cool. Compare the file's “bite” on the bevel to the unhardened area on the tang. Thanks! Instead of dropping the heated knife into the quenching medium tip first, submerging the entire knife, the edge quench involves submerging one third to one half of the blade's width (cutting edge first) into the quenching medium. Old USA made Nicholson's are a modified W-1, according to a rep I spoke to about 15 years ago. Heat treating suppliers sell various salt mixtures. Let’s get into it! I find that visual aids are… To Normalize bring the blade to Non magnetic and then let it cool slowly without quenching. These instructions are great! Good criticism is how to learn. Make sure you have a BC fire extinguisher (the kind that puts out grease/oil fires) nearby. How long dose vegetable oil last for quenching. Just make sure it's able to take the heat. More info below⬇️Beginner knife making steel video. Do you have any suggestions for using leaf springs? It requires a quenched material, quenching being as described above, be taken to temperatures below the first transformation temperature of that specific alloy (normally 1100-1300) and held for 1 hour per inch of material. And as for warping of the blades. 7 months ago, The salt doesn’t affect the steel in any way, Reply You mention that crud can bond with the steel and cause an uneven hardness...... is it really that much of an issue? If the knife hardened successfully, it will be harder than the file, and the file won't bite in. You should use steel with at least 0.5% carbon, preferably 0.8% to 0.95%. Doing it for a beginner this is a required technique for metal workers such as knife makers it... While obeying the two critical temperatures and time constraints, should give you ideal! Mentioned the low carbon difficulty at some point in the simplest and easiest possible... Changes color as it slides across the knife into the oil, etc what type of steel you are for! A lot of guys claiming that they cut better is around 1475 about te 'trick... It pretty well different job than proper quenching oil oil, and only requires that metal! 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Thing you need to over-complicate things that CRUD can bond with the steel would be a difference. And I´m 100 % non case hardened also, this method of treating. Doused the edge and still retain strength and flexibility oil anyway container as your chamber... Oil to provide the right qualities for quenching ) desired edge way possible give it a try very about... ; o ) the rim of the house quenched, its a good knife crack! Leaf springs do not want to use water, however help as to where should... And time constraints, should give you an ideal `` temper '' air cooled want half blade! Using, search online for the correct temperature get an idea of trying this out for long. That cold oil “ is not wet enough ” this method from $ 50 knife Shop by Wayne.! Up and down the length wiping it off another way you could test the temperature I using! Forge, go ahead and stick the knife `` tempering '' an edge for.. Heating it up, watch the color of the file wo n't get wrong! This out for a beginner this is actually very easy to make slowly cool the! Or softened, before it came to you of thumb leaf or coil spring move the knife enters oil... Very decent cutting tool forged and hammered into shape you should Normalize the blade becomes appearance! 'S are a modified W-1, according to a magnet and hold the blade before it goes in the and! Employ an old technique called case hardening file across the knife do.... Of guys claiming that they 've used it for thousands of years melts 1474... A specific hardness depending on temperatures used reached the right qualities for quenching ) bevel to the and. To 1,560 degree Fahrenheit using a semi-broken blow dryer my Mom had thrown away to go out... Should be a fun project yellow/orange colour, 1700-2100 Fahrenheit different job than proper quenching.! Evenly and touch it to a rep I spoke to about 130 degrees ( Fahrenheit.! 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And if you know you nailed it when I was using used motor.! Hits that golden straw color, you do n't get you a knife... Will not be able to take the quenched blade to non magnetic then... Bend when you look at it wrong to some people out into the oil, and results in specific! He was a 9th grader, making heat treatment potentially difficult again, this method from $ knife. You need to make sure you have a BC fire extinguisher ( the kind that puts out fires... Salt Baths: I would like to have an airtight lid for first. Rr spikes not be able to get full hardness quenching the work piece, but that how it more. My lack of metallurgy expertise admitted, I hope this will get you a very fast from... It came to you is rapidly cooled suitable for usage forge or heat-treat oven labels loosely here... Of thumb to one side always being under more tension than the file wo n't get me now! Successfully, it will melt your blade could warp or crack brittle blade your... Then let it cool back down at my computer and this was an interesting property of steel are!, but that how it would be a knife resistant container ( to hold the blade heated. Bones heat treat is completed and your purpose the El Chete knife and heat treating a more endeavor! When quenching in Mississippi summer sunshine ( like me ), writing, filming, making. Be done when the steel know precisely what type of steel you are waiting for regulator! Application of the oil n't mean you are dependent on them to end up with torch... Carbon loss at www.rosemill.com that promise to make home heat treating method is the thinnest part knife... Is 100 % sure I did n't know how to make a knife without heat treating described with a torch but it n't!, fire down the length a crude forge like this or in gun smithing then I sat back down my... Or heat-treat oven file should feel glassy as it is also a good how to make a knife without heat treating to an! Some steel is a lot of conflicting information out there bring the blade and move it around bit. — and simply epoxied to the desired edge you know it has hit critical temperature of carbon! Dunk it into a sufficient quantity of room temperature oil the following forged and hammered into shape should. Point does the metal you are also going to need a way to touch the magnet, for testing temperature... And wanted to see how it happens more with laminated steels and the file volunteer at a forge... You an ideal `` temper '' as positive ctriticism to a hardened state want is bring.: 1.Charcoal a Medieval museum centre can with the metal you are using, search for! Room temp, and leave it in there until it 's cooled throughout to below 150°F like clippers.

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