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My final soak is for 30 minutes. After I remove the first blade, the second one sits at least another 4-5 minutes to get back up to temp after opening the door. I am not sure which one hardened well last night, the first or second. The night before it was the second one (although it was only...

I have had pretty good luck so far plate quenching (1" aluminum) CPM 154, but just recently had some bad luck. I did two blades per batch last night and tonight. One blade came out fully hard, and the other came out a few points low. This happened both nights. Can anyone help. Here is what I...

I would have assumed that there was already a thread on this, but I can't find anything. I brought some Mesquite Wood back from a Texas pig hunt and want to try some on a knife. I have been told before that not all woods need stabilization, such as really dense and/or oily woods. So what...

Confusion!

I thought I was feeling you the whole time, just didn't know what the confussion was!

Just my two cents... If you had a tester in your possesion, I believe you would religiously use it after every HT episode. I bought my oven and tester near the same time and the difference it has made is bar none. The tester gives you so much opportunity to experiment and verify everything...

If you have a kiln, I would stick with that. Also, I think you probably need to pick between using canola oil or 1095. If you choose canola, heat to 120-130 deg. and make O-1 your steel of choice for it. I heat mine to 1500 deg., soak for about 10 minutes and then quench in the warmed canola...

I don't use straight 1095, but I do make my damascus with 1095 & 15N20. I bought some McMaster Carr 11 sec quench oil and it has been doing pretty well for me as far as rockwell is concerned. I got it through McMaster Carr, and if you google it, you should be able to get to their site. It is a...

I was wondering if I could get some feedback on how some of you get your bolsters prepped before attaching. By this I mean lining up and drilling the holes. The method I use now is: -I typically make my bolsters 1/2" in width. I will cut two 1/2" strips, super glue them together, hog them even...

Just got through reading glue wars again and reading Jim's recent response that he uses Gorilla Super Glue exclusively. If you (Jim Adams or anyone that uses super glues for handle attachment) could kind of describe how you work with it. You don't have to go into great detail about your process...

I would agree with the plate quenching. I searched through many threads and Tracy's recipe on his website when I started HT'ing CPM 154. I consistantly get 61.5 to 62 rockwell out of the plate quench (1" aluminum plates). I also shoot compressed air along the gap between the plates. It doesn't...

I temper at 400 twice, but I HT at 1900 with a 30 min soak. I would assume that Bruce's temper temp is different since he HT's at a higher temp.

Thanks for the input so far. Definitely giving me some insight.

Can someone give some input about what kind of flexibility you might get from a blade made from .100 thick stainless (such as cpm 154 with a blade length of approx. 6")? I am looking at building a "boning" kitchen knife and need some advice on what thickness of steel to use. From what I have...

Clint, I guess I was assuming that we were all talking about O-1 or similar steels with short soak times, if any. I can see your concern with the pouce not producing a full seal using the cap & pouch system. With the recipe I am using now for stainless, the blades are in the oven for a long...

I have never really had a problem with the seal issue, but I guess I don't know how to judge how much decarb has really occurred. I am sure there has to be some that occurs since it is not totally enclosed. There has never been any scale or anything like not using any foil. When making the...

I don't think many would recommend it. To use the foil, I do a "pouch/cap" system. By this I mean: -Make a pouch like you normally would to totally enclose a blade, but a little longer -Cut the pouch near where the tang would be, about a 1/4 of the tang sticking out of the end -With the...

I am needing to re-HT a blade of ATS 34 and was wondering what should be done beforehand. Do I need to anneal it, normalize it or just go right to the oven (with foil) and redo my recipe? If one of the first two, what temps & times are recommended? Thanks

I would agree with Ed. I bought an Evers stamp and it is good quality. The lady you will talk to is also very cool and helpful. I stamp cold and also made a press to make the impression. I could not get a deep or consistant impression without it. I saw on your website that you do your own...

Doug, Maybe I am not understanding your reply to Kevin very well, but isn't a soft back draw done often on a blade that is homogenously quenched? The steel in the spine would therefore be austenized before doing the draw with a torch. One different way of doing that is by only bringing the...