1075 quench

ELH11480

ELH11480

Member
Hello knife dogs, I am a longtime lurker and new “knifemaker”. I am working on making my fifth knife, my first four were 1095 and I quenched them in peanut oil. My fifth one will be in 1075 and I am pretty sure I can use the same peanut oil to quench. Am I correct that I can heat treat the 1075 the same as the 1095? Do I have to normalize, when just doing stock removal? Thanks in advance and I look forward to showing my progress as I go!
 
Normalizing your steel depends in part on where you sourced it from. NJSB has had some issues where normalizing is best. Alpha Knife Supply states that normalization isn't necessary. So check with where ever you bought your steel from and see what they say.

Dr. Larrin Thomas' book Knife Engineering calls out different specs for 1075 from 1095. His recommendation is 1475 degrees F for 10 minutes. A fast oil quench and temper 350-400.
In this case fast oil quench means Parks 50. Parks 50 is also recommended for 1095. Which I discovered after doing several knifes in 1095 with Canola oil. So your results could vary quite a bit. Many makers have used peanut oil. So it's a starting point.

Hope that helps.
 
The steel is from alpha, so that makes me feel better. My first knives seemed to turn out ok with the peanut oil, although I really want to move on to parks 50 as I evolve with my ability and skills. Maybe I will give peanut oil a try with the 1075 steel and see how it turns out. Thank you for your kind reply, I appreciate the feedback!
 
ELH11480 said:
although I really want to move on to parks 50 as I evolve
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Suggestion: Now that you're 5 knives into your journey, you should know enough to know if this is something you're going to continue. If so, then go ahead and get the Parks 50 now. It doesn't go bad, it's probably not going to get any cheaper and it might even take a while to get delivered. But you'll no longer have to ask yourself this question or have heat treatments that might not be as good as they can be.
 
I concur with the suggestion that you get yourself some Parks 50. Having used peanut oil I feel that it is iffy for simple steels like 1095 and 1075, especially with lower manganese levels. I'm looking at the same problem with shifting over to 8670. Parks 50 can be had at USA Knifemakers.

Doug
 
Number that I have seen say that typical 1075 may not have as much manganese as 1080 or 1084. The "default setting" for 1084 is 1500/400F. That should give you around 61 Rc assuming best methods.That is kind of the sweet spot for that steel according to many folks. I woudl typically be inclined use a lower austenizing temp for simple alloy steels that are hypereutectoid, like 1095, W1, W2, 52100, etc.
 
I’m definitely going to be purchasing some parks 50, I was just trying to hold off as it looks to be a bit pricey. Anyone know who has it the cheapest right now?
 
ELH11480 said:
I’m definitely going to be purchasing some parks 50, I was just trying to hold off as it looks to be a bit pricey. Anyone know who has it the cheapest right now?
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I believe Dubois Chemical is currently the least expensive. However expect a fairly long wait time. I bought AAA quench oil from them and it took about three weeks to arrive.
USAKnifemaker has it in stock and I'm certain his delivery time is less.
 
My last order of Parks 50 from Dubois Chemical took just under two weeks to be delivered.

No tracking or anything, didn't even show as shipped on the web site, just showed up...can't beat their price!
 
I have a piece of 80crv2 and would like to try o1 at some point, would these be ok in parks 50 or would I need another like AAA? This hobby is going to get real expensive and I’m still using a cheap 1x30 grinder! I guess you can’t put a price tag on happiness and I will keep rehearsing that line for when I ask the boss “wife” for an allowance.
 
ELH11480 said:
I have a piece of 80crv2 and would like to try o1 at some point, would these be ok in parks 50 or would I need another like AAA? This hobby is going to get real expensive and I’m still using a cheap 1x30 grinder! I guess you can’t put a price tag on happiness and I will keep rehearsing that line for when I ask the boss “wife” for an allowance.
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Very expensive indeed! I've spent nearly $10K in the last year. I did however buy all the best equipment...
 
ELH11480 said:
I guess you can’t put a price tag on happiness and I will keep rehearsing that line for when I ask the boss “wife” for an allowance.
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This knife making obsession that many have its actually all about shopping for "stuff". Its a never ending chase of the next better "stuff", even though more nifty "stuff" may not result in a better knife. But, there is certain "stuff" that's critical & quench oil is one of those.
(Good luck with your wife, many of us feel your pain)
 
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just purchased parks AAA from jantz supply - got here in 4 days. AAA is also recommended for the simple carbon steels. the simple carbon steels will often not fully harden in canola or peanut oil.
 
victoroni said:
just purchased parks AAA from jantz supply - got here in 4 days. AAA is also recommended for the simple carbon steels. the simple carbon steels will often not fully harden in canola or peanut oil.
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Should I just go with AAA, so I can use it for a variety of steels?
 
ELH11480 said:
Should I just go with AAA, so I can use it for a variety of steels?
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Here's a tip - when asking about metallurgical questions there are 2 people to rely on, Kevin Cashen and Larrin Thomas. I highly recommend Kevin's video on treating 1084
and Larrins book Knife Engineering https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08D4P9D95/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_b08d4p9d95
Also search this forum for their answers to many metallurgical questions. For instance: https://www.knifedogs.com/threads/proper-quenchant-for-80crv2-parks-50-or-aaa.52510/#post-422462 , post #5
 
CDHumiston said:
What is the main steel you want to work with? That will have a big effect on which oil to buy if you don't want to buy more than one type.
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Well I started with 1095 for my first four blades and have a piece of 1075 and 80crv2 that I want to use next. I would like to try o1 After my next two. Chances are that I will end up purchasing both oils at some point in time.
 
ELH11480 said:
Well I started with 1095 for my first four blades and have a piece of 1075 and 80crv2 that I want to use next. I would like to try o1 After my next two. Chances are that I will end up purchasing both oils at some point in time.
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Sounds like the AAA would be a good start. People say the 1095 needs the Parks 50, but I've had successful quenches of 1095 in Canola oil.

Sometimes you just have to work with what you have and experiment for yourself.
 
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