hey all you metal guys

[LRB]

ATF is a medium speed quench. Canola is about as fast as you get without going to commercial oil.

 

The trouble with W1 and W2 is that industry says it's a water quench steel, but they work with a lot thicker cross section than knifemakers. It can be quenched in water, and have seen some awesome hamons, but you risk cracking it. Better success rate with oil.

 

[gmarc]

I would venture to say that short of making your own blister or shear steel, simple steels such as 10-series would be good candidates.

Even though they lack the refractory elements that can add performance to steel, fine blades are routinely made of them, given proper heat-treat and finishing. It is these last two aspects that give blades the performance that customers notice.

I do not use brine quenches for any long or thin sections. In the old days, water was used, but those old craftsmen knew the risks of rapid quenches. Many used lard in varying degrees of liquidity. I have hardened small punches in a brick of fatback, just to see how it worked..it did.

Make no mistake, modern industry has heat-treating down well. To get the best performance from a steel, the closer you can mimic modern industrial practices, the better your results will be. If you want to get decent results, you must take the guessing out of your process. Reading about heat treating processes is a must.

There is no area of blacksmithing more filled with mumbo-jumbo than blademaking. There are still smiths out there who face their anvils to "true north" while forging-so the "crystals align properly" ....Sheesh! These folks are generally not interested in the science of the materials, which is easy to access.

Modern steels are not produced with hand forgers in mind. They are economic commodities whose characteristics are dictated by modern industrial needs. An aspiring smith is best served by learning the materials through known science vs. mumbo-jumbo.

enough rant.. :yakyak:

 

Hey, my anvil is facing north! Then again it's because the smithy is on the south side of my shop. I built it that way for the rising and setting of the sun, and to let the cold north wind batter the highest insulation, while I'm out back. Never really considered the North/South direction of the anvil, just the lighting. Didn't use a compass either, just noted the rising and setting of the sun when laying the shop foundation out.

You know, there are a lot of myths, like facing north, and only heat treating on a full moon night. Personally I think the kernel of truth in the myths is mainly getting consistent natural lighting. Nothing magical, just as now, good smiths strive for consistency and to eliminate variables. At least that's my theory, could be way off base. I have read some old heat treating books that were wayyyy off base.

 

[gmarc]

Things really changed only when the particulate structure of steel could be examined. I have read that the "golden age" of tools steel discoveries ran from the 1930s to the 1960s. The criteria were not given.