Just for the heck of it I beat out a railroad spike knife of the high carbon type. From what I understand that means .30-.40 carbon.
For the Super Quench I used one gallon of water, 1lb. of salt, 4 oz. of Dawn dish soap, & 4 oz. of Basic H2.
before starting I ran a file across the edge to make sure it was soft. It was dead soft.
I heated it with a torch using the #3 tip to what I believe in my shop to be around 1550 to 1600 degrees, and quenched it. I kept it moving like slicing bread. To say this is a fast quench is an understatement.
I tried the file again, and it just slid off, and I thought hmmmm, that is interesting. So I finished the blade, and got it reasonably sharp, and tested it out on a strand off my 1" hemp rope.
I made 32 cuts before it started to drag, and it made 50 cuts with no problem, and was still able to slice paper, though a little roughly.
This all kinda suprised me, and I really don't know what to make of it.
Bob
For the Super Quench I used one gallon of water, 1lb. of salt, 4 oz. of Dawn dish soap, & 4 oz. of Basic H2.
before starting I ran a file across the edge to make sure it was soft. It was dead soft.
I heated it with a torch using the #3 tip to what I believe in my shop to be around 1550 to 1600 degrees, and quenched it. I kept it moving like slicing bread. To say this is a fast quench is an understatement.
I tried the file again, and it just slid off, and I thought hmmmm, that is interesting. So I finished the blade, and got it reasonably sharp, and tested it out on a strand off my 1" hemp rope.
I made 32 cuts before it started to drag, and it made 50 cuts with no problem, and was still able to slice paper, though a little roughly.
This all kinda suprised me, and I really don't know what to make of it.
Bob