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Yes, many folks would also do some reduced heats after normalizing to refine grain size. One needs to remember that the more evenly distributed the carbon before the anneal the better the results. Also remember that diffusion is initiated, and driven, by points of higher energy within the...

The finer the phase structures, the easier they will go into solution, and the greater the resulting hardening... unless too much is put into solution. And what may be true of one steel will not be the case with a another alloy with different chemistry. Sticking with the 10XX series, the...

That is the beauty of it, it doesn't really matter. In this process, all the work is done at temperature, rate of cooling doesn't matter as much, and slower cooling only really adds up to more time at temperatures where spheroidizing may occur. With the other industrial, or isothermal method...

Sorry, I got to work for the day and realized that I didn’t give much info on how to do these treatments. For lamellar annealing, simply heat the steel well above non-magnetic and cool slowly via insulation, such as vermiculite or the inside of a cooling gas forge, or kiln. However, I no longer...

Did I hear my name? There are three heating operations that are involved in this discussion- normalizing, and two types of annealing. I will take them in order of how soft they will make your metal. The first is normalizing, since it will do the least in softening the metal because that is not...

Eventually... I need to finish creating the ABS site first ;)

It is hard to tell but it looks a little too aggressive in the roll, but I have no scale to even judge the blade size.

Here is an excerpt from an article I am working on for the ABS. The article will have a full listing of quench oils and steels I have worked with or tested, but I reserve that level of thoroughness for platforms where I can get due credit for the research hours spent in compiling the data. My...

I would be happy to flesh out such a form except there are some items there that are redundant, leaving some wondering "why this and not that". It may be easier to understand if it were broke down into two parts consisting of "quenchants" and "quenchant alternatives"

God Bless you Chris. As I age I find that it doesn't take long to be forgotten in this business and I can't tell you how good it feels to hear that I have helped you enough for you to post this. There is no greater accomplishment than knowing you may have made a difference for some others...

If that is your goal, then choose your one steel and start working with it. Set your methods, tools and materials in place and only change one thing at a time until you get what you are looking for. Once you have worked out how to make a blade that will bend to 90°, then pass your test and...

Houghton Type "K" is their faster oil, in the 7-11 second (nickel ball test) range. It is roughly similar to Park Metallurgical/Heatbath #50. I personally use #50 but am quite familiar with the Type "K" due to setting up clients that I consult for and having some inside connections at...

Set the oven then give it a good, long, time to regulate at your set temp. Then introduce the blades, wait for the rebound. On 10XX, using correct austenitizing temps, all you need to do is insure the blades have reached temp., as full solution can be achieved as low as 1375°F, and quench...

Jon, like I said, run everything you hear by Tim, see what he says, one day I am sure we will talk as well. The people who have impressed me the most over the years are the ones that double checked even what I said and came away with a full picture. Tim will always back up his opinion with...

Hello Jon, Since you have access to him, run any information you are curious about by Tim Z. and see what he thinks. That would be your best bet.

Grain size wouldn't be a problem, the normalizing is to affect spheroidal carbide size and distribute the carbon for easier solution latter on. I was the one who came up with the normalizing schedule for Aldo to raise the hardenability. I have looked at a lot of his steel through the metallograph.

Nothing against you Chris, you are doing fine. It is just one of my hang-ups, on any internet forum, that I get a little uncomfortable with threads addressed specifically to me in the title. It seems exclusionary and robs the poster of a lot of valuable input from countless other sources who...

How long will you make rookie mistakes? Until you make your last knife! People have this idea that master bladesmiths are masters because they don’t make mistakes, Ha! Nothing could be farther from the truth. Masters are masters because they have made that many more mistakes than others, and...

I'm probably even cheaper than you on how seldom I switch out my TSP tube.

Baking soda works, but... FeCl has a two part action as far as corrosion. It is a weak acid, but there is the "Cl" part to deal with as well. Once you have neutralized the acid nature with a base you will still have stray Cl atoms present, one of the most corrosive elements around. This is...