The best professional quenchant for O1

flatblackcapo

flatblackcapo

Well-Known Member
Howdy folks it's me again haha. While I am waiting for my quench plates and foil to arrive so I can HT that cpm154 I was asking about , I have a bar of O1 I would like to make into some knives. My question is, what quench oil will give me the best results with O1 steel. I have read that Parks AAA , McMaster Carr 28 second oil or tough quench are all good. Will one give better more consistent results than another? As always, Thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge.
 
Being that O-1 was specifically designed to quench in oil any of the oils you describe will work very well as they are all a medium speed well suited for this alloy. The advantage that they all offer is that they will quench you 50th blade the as predictably and consistently as your first, if they are well maintained. You are most likely only dealing with two products here, the Heatbath/Park oil and repackaged Houghton medium speed. Houghton is huge and most of the oils that smaller resellers are merely Houghton products repackaged into other containers. I have used both and either will provide very good results for O-1, the Houghton may have a slight edge in long term performance if you plan on using it for years.
 
Thank you very much,Kevin. If they all are so close in performance,can you recommend one on price and availability and maybe some good folks to get it from?
 
flatblackcapo said:
Thank you very much,Kevin. If they all are so close in performance,can you recommend one on price and availability and maybe some good folks to get it from?
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By far the McMaster Carr or Toughquench will be much easier to obtain. The only readily available source for the AAA I can think of is Maxim Oil in Texas.
 
Morning guys. I just wanted to add the Kelly Couples offers AAA quench. Dont know how the price compares to McMasters??

Here is some contact info. :) Kelly Cupples / octihunter@charter.net
 
Thanks guys. I ended up going through Maxim. Upon a suggestion from a good guy named Bill , I called and talked to Carla,she was super helpful and nice. I have a 5 gal. pail of Houghton type G on it's way for a little less than $110 shipped. that should last me for a while. Many thanks for your help.
 
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