About to take the plunge.

IanBryant

Well-Known Member
...into oil...see what I did there?
Anyway, I have a 1095 blade beveled to roughly. 045 thickness at the edge at 240 grit and I clayed it up for a hamon (fingers crossed).I am doing my HT at work since we have all the necessary equipment and my supervisor is okay with it. The concerns that I have are: we have a large vat of oil for quenching o1 mostly but according to what I've read in my research, the oil should be heated to 120ish degrees. I have no way to heat this giant vat and nothing to transfer a smaller amount to. What is the worst thing that could happen from quenching 1095 in 80 degree oil...and what's the likelihood of it happening?
Also it is my understanding that "heat is the enemy of a hamon" so with this in mind how should I approach the draw (temper) cycles, low and short (which seems like it would be too hard) or what? Any other advice is more than welcome since this is my first attempt at a hamon...first feasible attempt, I tried on o1 but...well you know....
I could be over thinking things but input does wonders to set my mid at ease. I'm rambling now, sorry.
 
The temperature of the oil is not as much of a concern asthe steel the oil has been being used for. An oil that has been being used successfully forO-1 will probably be too slow for 1095 and will really be too slow for hamon effects. You would be better off buying a couplegallons of canola and heating it to 130F. for hamon work. A faster oil like Parks #50 or Houghtoquench Kwould be optimum but probably out of the budget for the project.
Very high temperatures are the enemy of hamon, but normaltempering temperatures (350F- 425F) will not bother it much.
 
I may postpone my heat treat until next week and pick up some canola oil over the weekend. I'm going to have to come up with something to put the canola oil into for the quench if I'm going point down. Perhaps a piece of tubing welded to a plate if I can find one big enough to facilitate moving it around to avoid a vapor barrier? I need something almost disposable and small that will be quick and easy to make (like say, on my lunch break)Suggestions on this would be helpful, I work in the die repair shop of a factory so I'm sure there's something laying around that I can use but suggestions may help get my creative juices flowing...if I come up with something clever I'll probably share.
 
I use a 4" diameter piece of exhaust pipe about 24" long brazed to a 1/4" plate, holds about a gallon. Seems to work ok for a single blade, oil is too hot for 2 blades in a row.

YMMV
 
I use a 4" diameter piece of exhaust pipe about 24" long brazed to a 1/4" plate, holds about a gallon. Seems to work ok for a single blade, oil is too hot for 2 blades in a row.

YMMV

That's about what I had in mind...I have to come up with some pipe that size..

We have gallon buckets here that we keep grease in, I may go with that if it's deep enough and I can find an empty one...or I may just go buy one...
 
The turkey fryer is a great idea. However I'm sure the guys on first shift may have some questions about me lugging one into the shop. I'll most likely do that when I get a setup at my shop though.
 
...and I now have a gallon of canola oil in my possession so I only need something to put it in.
 
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I've been meaning to stop by a local welding/gas supply place and see if they have any decommissioned argon or co2 tanks that I could just cut the valve end off of at the desired height. Havn't gotten to it though.
 
...and I now have a gallon of canola oil in my possession so I only need something to put it in.

Ammo cans work nicely and they have lids that are sealed so you can keep the oil in them. Check out an army surplus store for one. Its what a lot of guys use. The larger ones will hold about 4 gallons.
 
Well... she's been critical and quenched and in the first draw right now.

I ended up using a welding rod can to quench in and it worked out well, I set it in a tub of absorbent stuff (kitty litter) in case of a spill and to help hold it upright because of the smallish diameter of the can.

I did knock the clay off before the temper...I hope this won't cause any problems, I don't imagine that it will given that the structural changes have already happened with the quench and 375 isn't going to even approach temperatures that will do any serious damage to the hamon....I imagine...but life is full of surprises. I hope this isn't one of those surprises.

I will most certainly have a bazillion questions as I continue with this one and hopefully I will gather enough knowledge to do it successfully and repeatedly...with better results..
 
375° may not mess up the hamon but it also won't do much more than relieve the stress in the steel. I think that you'll find that the edge is still going to be too hard to avoid chipping. Try taking your next temper up to 400° and then test the edge to see if it wants to chip. Increase by 25° until you get an edge that doesn't want to chip on you. Many makers temper their 1095 blades at 450°. You may be running into the trade-off between a sharp hamon and a blade that's not to brittle.

Doug
 
Thanks for calling that to my attention. I'm going to have to do a 3rd temper in the kitchen tomorrow since I'm home from work now. I just wish I had seen this post earlier but those are the joys of work....

I most definitely have a hamon on the blade, I went after it with some emery cloth and you can see the hamon lines...I did a little dance and looked like an idiot after this discovery....
 
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