1gallon of Parks 50

The reason I went with 1095 was because I talked to Aldo about it and he said to use 1095.

I don't know any other knife makers even close to me. They all live at least 2 hours away and don't use Parks.
 
I have started tracking down heat treating companies in Northern Colorado to see if they could help me out. We will see what they say. I expect to hear that they can't help me but you never know...
 
Aldo's 1095 is reported to behave much better than normal 1095. You might do fine using his, but you still need the fast quench. And, I can tell you from experience, no matter how a file skates off 1095 after hardening, you still will not know how well the acual HT went without using the blade for a bit. 1095 can be more pearlite than Martensite, and still make a file skate as if it were all Martensite. That's why I quit using it, and how I learned that even motor oil with great viscosity is a very poor quench for 1095.
 
Couple things:

I can't recall where I found it, but I have seen several posts on various threads and forums about a "Parks 50" alternative that was supposedly reverse engineered from the MSDS of Parks #50. You might look into that and see what you come up with.

The other alternative is to buy 5 gallons, as well as 5 one gallon "shippable" containers, and see if you can do a "group" buy. I'm sure there are probably at least 4 makers who would be willing to buy a gallon of parks #50 for 20 to 25% of the cost of a 5 gallon bucket. Heck, you may even find someone who will buy the remaining 4 gallons at a discounted price, and you can even repackage it in the same box and bucket.

Lastly, if you're a gambling man, you can try a mixture of brine (salt and water) which is about as fast of a quench as you can possibly get. The problem is that you'll likely break about 1 or 2 out of every 5 or 6 blades.
Canola or Peanut oil isn't the most terrible option either.
 
I agree, I've used Aldo's 1095 and quenched it in Canola oil....ignorance really is BLISS!!! If you look at my Avatar, that is one of those that I made this way! But Aldo's 1095 is'nt really 1095....it's like super duper 1095 on steroids, and oh so HAMONISTIC!!! That's one of my words there, but it comes 1 5/8"wide, 3/8" thick, NOT for the faint of heart! But does make a super knife, I've got some ideas I'm going to try if I ever get the one I'm working on now finished...this one is being a PITA...OK it's really not the knifes fault, it's the makers fault for attempting something above his skill level....but it looks like it may turn out pretty nice. It has been a challenge! And the Desert Iron Wood Burl is STUNNING!!! I figured it deserved some extra attention, not just a slabbed up full tang, so I went all out with a through tang w/ butt cap, I've never made anything remotley close to it, sooooo, we'll see! Wish me luck, karma, prayers, ju ju, I'll take it all on this one! Rex
BTW, the one I'm working on is Aldo's 1084fg, I forged it out last winter and stuck it back in the corner, kinda got covered up by the clutter, so I got it out and went to wrok on it. I have high hopes for it!
 
Sometimes, you never really know your skill level until you try to go beyond.
 
LRB said:
Aldo's 1095 is reported to behave much better than normal 1095. You might do fine using his, but you still need the fast quench. And, I can tell you from experience, no matter how a file skates off 1095 after hardening, you still will not know how well the acual HT went without using the blade for a bit. 1095 can be more pearlite than Martensite, and still make a file skate as if it were all Martensite. That's why I quit using it, and how I learned that even motor oil with great viscosity is a very poor quench for 1095.
Click to expand...

So testing the knife is the only way to find out if you are HT correctly with 1095?

I guess I will tread softly and hopefully I will get lucky. I might just have to break down and get a 5 gallon bucket. None of the Heat Treating companies are calling me back or emailing me back.
 
I resisted buying Parks for a long time. That was foolish. The difference was noticeable the first Parks 50 blade I sharpened. 5 gallons is really the right amount to absorb the heat energy of a reasonable sized blade. If you need to justify the expense to your wife find something like takeout coffee that you can do without or substitute homemade for and skip it and put the money in a jar.

-Page
 
I PM'd you. I'd be willing to buy the other 4 gallons if you catch me before I find some. Im also in Colorado.
 
Actually I appologize, I need to retract that last offer. I just spoke with the good people at Maxim and ordered 5 gallons of Parks. I'm hoping it pays for itself over having to replace/refresh canola.
 
Parks 50# is petro based and so is 20 weight Non detergent motor oil (new) both have polymer additives . I f you havent tried it dont knock it
If you try it once you will never go back to parks . I personally think its about the same . Even smells the same , maybe everyone is buying motor oil :001_tt2: ......Bubba
 
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The original poster asked where to buy a given quantity of a specific quench oil back in May, the thread was restarted by a generous offer to help out with that exact original topic. We should keep it there without rehashing a two month old thread drift.
 
I have used Vet grade mineral oil with good results. It may not be any cheaper though. As said above. This is an investment in your hobby, similar to a piece of equipment.

God Bless
Mike
 
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