PetrifiedWood
Well-Known Member
This might seem a bit off the wall but...
I want to make some flint and steel strikers from 1095. I have them already cut out (got them laser cut).
When they came form the laser company, they were hardened about 1/16" in from the edges from the laser, enough to strike sparks. But, I want them through-hardened because I'm going to be putting a sharp edge on them for striking ferrocerium rods as well as flint.
I've made about 27 of these strikers using 5/32" thick O1 steel. I use an evenheat kiln and ramp up to 1275 and hold for 15 minutes, then ramp up to 1500 and soak for 15 minutes, then quench into room temp mineral oil. This has worked fine for the O1 strikers. They get hard enough to strike nice sparks, and they are at least RC60 as verified with my hardness testing files.
I tried the exact same program using the 1095 strikers (these were 3/16" thick, so only slightly thicker), and they got softer, rather than harder. They don't throw sparks at all, and if you put an edge on them they roll easily. I haven't checked their hardness with the files but something obviously went wrong.
Time from the kiln to the quenchant was less than 2 seconds, and I agitated them vigorously (not concerned about warping because they don't need to be precise).
What confuses me is that Evenheat's program for 1095 is the same as that for O1. But I had drastically different results with my program.
So do you think my problem is with the heat program, or the quenching? Should I try water quenching them instead of oil? Was 12 minutes at 1500 too much for the 1095? Did I burn out all the carbon?
A friend of mine suggested throwing them in a pile of lit charcoal and letting them cool overnight in hopes that some of the carbon would be replaced if decarb was the problem.
I want to make some flint and steel strikers from 1095. I have them already cut out (got them laser cut).
When they came form the laser company, they were hardened about 1/16" in from the edges from the laser, enough to strike sparks. But, I want them through-hardened because I'm going to be putting a sharp edge on them for striking ferrocerium rods as well as flint.
I've made about 27 of these strikers using 5/32" thick O1 steel. I use an evenheat kiln and ramp up to 1275 and hold for 15 minutes, then ramp up to 1500 and soak for 15 minutes, then quench into room temp mineral oil. This has worked fine for the O1 strikers. They get hard enough to strike nice sparks, and they are at least RC60 as verified with my hardness testing files.
I tried the exact same program using the 1095 strikers (these were 3/16" thick, so only slightly thicker), and they got softer, rather than harder. They don't throw sparks at all, and if you put an edge on them they roll easily. I haven't checked their hardness with the files but something obviously went wrong.
Time from the kiln to the quenchant was less than 2 seconds, and I agitated them vigorously (not concerned about warping because they don't need to be precise).
What confuses me is that Evenheat's program for 1095 is the same as that for O1. But I had drastically different results with my program.
So do you think my problem is with the heat program, or the quenching? Should I try water quenching them instead of oil? Was 12 minutes at 1500 too much for the 1095? Did I burn out all the carbon?
A friend of mine suggested throwing them in a pile of lit charcoal and letting them cool overnight in hopes that some of the carbon would be replaced if decarb was the problem.