Where to BUY fast Quench like Parks 50?

Guys, why don't we get ourselves a solid answer on the McMaster-Carr 11 second oil with regards to 1095 series steel.
Last week I took delivery of some 1095 in 1/8", 5/32", & 3/16" thicknesses. Today I placed an order for 2 gallons of the
11 second oil. If someone with access to a Rockwell tester will volunteer to test the pieces I will gladly HT a couple of
pieces of each thickness and send them the untempered pieces for testing. If anyone has additional suggestions, let me know.

David
 
Anyone got a contact number for HOughton in the dirty south?? They were supposed to get back to me but haven't

Grrr me reading Kevins work on Quench Oils!!!

I feel so Alone

Alone I Break
 
L. McAlpine said:
I have a tester and would be happy to test them for you.

Larry
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Larry, that would be great. I should receive the 11 second oil tomorrow.
If you'll email your address I'll try to HT the test pieces this week and
get them shipped to you.

Thanks,
David
 
D. Crawford said:
Guys, why don't we get ourselves a solid answer on the McMaster-Carr 11 second oil with regards to 1095 series steel.
Last week I took delivery of some 1095 in 1/8", 5/32", & 3/16" thicknesses. Today I placed an order for 2 gallons of the
11 second oil. If someone with access to a Rockwell tester will volunteer to test the pieces I will gladly HT a couple of
pieces of each thickness and send them the untempered pieces for testing. If anyone has additional suggestions, let me know.

David
Click to expand...

David, Thank you; that would be extremely helpful.
- Mitch
 
No problem Mitch. I think a bunch of us are in the same boat with regards to quench mediums.
I know we'd all love to have some Parks or Houghton but it is obviously hard to get, fairly expensive,
and I really don't need a minimum 5 gallons of it. On the other hand I know that my peanut oil
is not getting me optimum results - especially on thicker stock. If the McMaster 11 second oil will
give an acceptable result with 10xx series steels that will be great. If not then we'll know to ante up
for the good stuff.

David
 
Leatherface said:
Anyone got a contact number for HOughton in the dirty south?? They were supposed to get back to me but haven't

Grrr me reading Kevins work on Quench Oils!!!

I feel so Alone

Alone I Break
Click to expand...

Leatherface,

I found a local place that can order Houghton, the fella was nice to talk to and checked on pricing for 5gal shipped to his place.
$195 for the Houghto-Quench K. I checked McMaster-Carr 11 sec. on their website, $82 dollars to my door.

He's in NorthEast Arkansas, Let me know if you want his info.
 
R.Keith said:
Leatherface,

I found a local place that can order Houghton, the fella was nice to talk to and checked on pricing for 5gal shipped to his place.
$195 for the Houghto-Quench K. I checked McMaster-Carr 11 sec. on their website, $82 dollars to my door.

He's in NorthEast Arkansas, Let me know if you want his info.
Click to expand...

I called Houghton direct, and they quoted me $27.84 per gallon on a 5 gallon pail of the Quench K, and said shipping would be 40-50 dollars.
 
I just received two gallons of the McMaster 11 sec and did a couple of tests tonight. I have been having problems with getting 1095 hard, so I kind of abandoned it (I pretty much use O-1). The only problem is that is what I use in my damascus (1095 and 15N20). I recently bought a hardness tester so I can experiment a little now. I was kind of skeptical because just last night I read the whole "quench wars" post and the results were bothersome. They sounded like the results I was getting with my current quenchants. I had just recently tried canola oil, atf, Texaco Type A and water. Only the water did all right in that little experiment.
My test was as follows. I HT'd all pieces like I do my O-1. 1500 deg (kiln), soak for 8-10 minutes, and then quench (I am sure someone will disagree with soaking, but anyway...). The oil was heated to 120F.
The piece of 1095 came out in the neighborhood of 57-61. The tests were taken in a variety of spots.
The two pieces of my damascus came out in near the same range. (one piece didn't harden as well though, and I am not sure why)
I also threw a piece of O-1 in there just to see what would happen. It came out in the low 60's. I have gotten the best results with canola oil on my O-1. I tried the Texaco Type A and they were in the mid to high 50's. I usually get low to mid 60's with the canola oil. (I already know about the pearlite and all that. I also know it is not a commercial quencant. It is made to fry with. It's just what I got).
Maybe this will help out with buying quenchants for steel like 1095. The guy I ordered it from was pleasant and it was here in just a couple days. Shipping to CO was a little less than $9. I would have rather ordered Parks 50, but we have all read the posts!
 
Im really new to this and on a shoe string budget but was wondering if peanut oil would work? Im working with 1095 right now. Have gallons of the stuff from all the fried turkeys.
 
redbug270 said:
Im really new to this and on a shoe string budget but was wondering if peanut oil would work? Im working with 1095 right now. Have gallons of the stuff from all the fried turkeys.
Click to expand...


Redbug,..1095 wouldn't be a great choice for peanut oil, if u want to getthe most out of the steel...1084 from Aldo would be better imho...
 
Scherar,

Thanks for posting your results. A question if I may, what kind of agitation did you use with the blades in the quench oil?

Another question because I am looking for one, what kind of hardness tester did you get and from where?


Seth
 
As far as agitation, go spine to edge or tip to butt, but never side to side. Anything where the flow is even on both sides of the knife is good. Anything where the flow of oil is greater on one side than the other will lend itself to warping your blade.

Another question... we've been quoting what appear to be GM Quenchometer ratings of "9 seconds" "11 seconds" etc. I assume that this notation comes from a standardised set of procedures regarding oil temperature, agitation, etc, in addition to a standard size and temperature of the probe. I'd assume that the standardized ratings are only useful for comparing oils relative to each other. The question is this: An oil rated at "11 seconds" is noted to be "too slow" for 1095, for example. Is the oil "too slow" under the GM test conditions, or is it too slow under typical knifemaking conditions such as 125 degree oil and tip to butt agitation? Or, has actual knife-making testing shown that "11 second" oils are too slow for 1095 under knifemaking conditions?
 
I agitated like described by Fry, "slicing" the oil after submersing the blade. It is important to plunge the knife point first, as vertical as possible. It is easy to get some warpage on smaller width/thin blades if you get too carried away trying to get it into the oil. When slicing the oil, keep the same "vertical" idea in mind.
The tester was purchased from Grizzly Tools. They only carry one. I think I paid $900 with shipping. I ordered it in July and got it in October. I was just about to cancel my order when I finally got a call from the delivery company. Grizzly constantly gave me projected receiving dates, but they never were accurate. It is an import model, so I don't know how great it is, but that is the story. I get varied readings (probably +/- 2 points), but I have never used a Wilson or such to be able to compare it to. I was more apt to get a portable tester, but recommendations were for the bench top. It is bulky and heavy.

Fry, from what I have read on forums, McMaster 11 sec. isn't the ultimate choice for 1095, but when I went to order Parks 50 from a site, they were out of stock with no expected time of arrival. Also, and I guess this is not a good excuse, but the 11 sec was much cheaper. Overall, it is night and day from the other two quenchants I had used before.
 
Troop said:
How are we doing with the McMaster-Carr 11 second oil?
- Thanks
Click to expand...

OK guys,I got the 3 thicknesses of 1095 HT'd with the 11 sec oil and sent to L McAlpine today. The file test seemed to
go well. I look forward to the Rockwell results.

David
 
Last edited:
D. Crawford said:
OK guys,I got the 3 thicknesses of 1095 HT'd with the 11 sec oil and sent to L McAlpine today. The file test seemed to
go well. I look forward to the Rockwell results.

David
Click to expand...

Great, David...thank you. I hate being held hostage by Parks or Houghton.
- Mitch
 
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