Heat treat questions

Gliden07

Gliden07

Well-Known Member
Well I sanded my knife blank down to 220 grit paper. All the file marks are gone. Need to heat treat now blade is 01 tool steel 1/8"x 1", plan on using oxy-acetelyne torch with a Rosebud tip and Canola oil for the quench. Question is should I pre-heat oil before quench? And how long should I quench? Thanks!

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I don't use O1 steel personally, but I do use 1095 and 1084 and I believe the heat treat is similar. Preheat oil to 130°-140° and if you're quenching the whole blade (as opposed to doing just an edge quench - which is what I do) then stick the blade in your preheated oil tip first and then move it up and down through the oil for a good 45 seconds or so. The main thing would be to get the blade heated up enough so that it becomes non magnetic, then quickly (preferably within a second) into the oil to quench. Others may have varying opinions on this method, but this has worked well for me on 1095 & 1084. Hope this helps!
 
I would not use a torch to heat treat O1. for best results, you need temperature controlled furnace. for second best results, use a charcoal or wood fire and a thermocouple to measure temperature. you want the blade at 1500F +/-25f for about 10 minutes then quench in canola between 120F and 140F. nice thing about canola is that is doesn't stink too much when smoking and usually doesn't flare up.
 
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Hardening done used my 1 brick forge and a Bernzomatic 8000 torch. Torch will burn Propane or Mapp gas and has a knob to adjust the flame. I heated till non magnetic held for a few minutes and quenched in preheated Canola oil (140 Deg). File tested and it skated right off. Got my Toaster oven up and running confirming temp with extra oven thermometer. Going to Temper 400Deg for 2 hrs, then air cool. And on to sanding and more sanding!!
 
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