Warping 1095

opaul

opaul

KNIFE MAKER
I have a second bar of 1095 that has warped on me while grinding. I grind both side as i’m grinding. I don’t think this is normal. I’m going to call Alpha today to see what they say.
Anyone else had this issue?
 
I have not had one warp during grinding but I do recall Kevin Cashen saying even steel advertised as annealed can have stress from the manufacturing process. He suggested (I think) to at least normalize if not anneal it. Do not know if that would help warping in grinding.
 
Chris Railey said:
I have not had one warp during grinding but I do recall Kevin Cashen saying even steel advertised as annealed can have stress from the manufacturing process. He suggested (I think) to at least normalize if not anneal it. Do not know if that would help warping in grinding.
Click to expand...
I used to do that and should probably start again but had assumed (mistakenly) that bar stock did not have to be normalized.
 
Update. I just called Alpha and left a message (not open yet since they are on the west coast).
 
opaul said:
I used to do that and should probably start again but had assumed (mistakenly) that bar stock did not have to be normalized.
Click to expand...
That was the same question I asked Kevin because I assumed normalizing was not necessary for stock removal blades. That was when he told me about bar stock possibly having stress left over from manufacturing. I can tell you that I have had trouble drilling one tang hole on a stock removal knife which tells me there are still hard spots left in even the "annealed" bar stock. I have heated it to red let it cool slowly and bam, no trouble drilling. We were talking about warping during the quench not grinding so I do not know if there are different factors at play in your situation.
 
tkroenlein said:
Given that Alpha advertises as "no extra processing" I think they'd like to know about those issues.
Click to expand...
I agree. I’ve ordered a lot of steel from them in the past.
I’ve got the blade in the oven now. After the first temper I’ve got it clamped to a piece of flat stock with spacers and c-clamps in place to compensate for the warp. Keeping my fingers crossed.
 
Opaul a few things to look at before thinking the steel is bad. Can you easily bend it by hand? If so how much pressure are you using when grinding? AEBL likes to warp while grinding, I noticed it the most when getting the blade warm while grinding one side, and dipping it in the water bucket. The blade would always pull to the warm side. It didn't need to be hot enough to burn my fingers and it would still warp some.
 
Ty Adams said:
Opaul a few things to look at before thinking the steel is bad. Can you easily bend it by hand? If so how much pressure are you using when grinding? AEBL likes to warp while grinding, I noticed it the most when getting the blade warm while grinding one side, and dipping it in the water bucket. The blade would always pull to the warm side. It didn't need to be hot enough to burn my fingers and it would still warp some.
Click to expand...
This is 3/16” bar so it doesn’t bend easily. I used fresh belts with light pressure. After the first warping occurred I straightened it and then did more flat grinding to true. I did additional grinding and applied cement for the Hamon to dry overnight. When I checked this morning the blade had warped again. I’m perplexed.
 
I'm kinda to the point where I'm not sure what or if any steel is properly set up to heat treat from the mill. That butter soft stuff (I use only low alloy deep hardening steels) can't really be set up for good heat treating response can it? Alphas 80CrV2 gives good results for stock removal, but it comes in the mid 40's HRC.

I don't want anyone thinking I know much about steel. I just have to gauge my results off of what gets my post temper hardness values in line.
 
Ok, admittedly I’m a little agitated right now. I tempered the blade and was able to get most of the warp out with the clamps method.
This morning while I’m doing final grinding the blade started warping again. With all the hours I’ve got in this blade i’m hesitate to use anymore of the 1095 I‘ve got on hand.
This is really disappointing.
 
Ya know, before I got real upset, I think I'd go through the normalization and annealing process on a piece from the same batch and see if that fixed it. That would be some good feedback for Alpha, but also more of an aid in helping you determine the nature of the issue.
 
a couple things
1. etch the surface lightly to see if there is any alloy banding. I've seen it more than once in 1095. It will look like smears across the face of the steel. If there is, you found the problem.
2. Immediately after your quench, clamp the blade while still hot in between a couple plates until cool. I do this routinely now with carbon steels.
3. Alpha runs a good shop and they would not knowingly (in my mind anyway) sell marginal steel.
4. I can't say I often hear of problems with 1095 or any carbon steel for that matter but if I do, it's usually 1095 (or 5160). Consider switching to 1080/1084. I think the smelting process and end product is cleaner and with less issues. I have nothing to base that on other than casual observation.

what quench oil are you using?
 
BossDog said:
a couple things
1. etch the surface lightly to see if there is any alloy banding. I've seen it more than once in 1095. It will look like smears across the face of the steel. If there is, you found the problem.
2. Immediately after your quench, clamp the blade while still hot in between a couple plates until cool. I do this routinely now with carbon steels.
3. Alpha runs a good shop and they would not knowingly (in my mind anyway) sell marginal steel.
4. I can't say I often hear of problems with 1095 or any carbon steel for that matter but if I do, it's usually 1095 (or 5160). Consider switching to 1080/1084. I think the smelting process and end product is cleaner and with less issues. I have nothing to base that on other than casual observation.

what quench oil are you using?
Click to expand...
Thanks Tracy. I did camp between plates immediately after quenching.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top