Heat treating

[Joe Mangiafico]

Hi, Im new to the forum, and relatively new to knife making as well. I have forged a few blades from 1084 carbon steel, but have no way of heat treating it, as I live in a college dorm. Any suggestions of heat treating services i can send them to?

 

[mete]

You should go to a real college where they have metallurgy courses and HT equipment !

1084 is one of the easier steels to HT. You should see if you can find a knife maker nearby and ask for instructions. If you can forge it you could HT it too.

 

[Cody Hofsommer]

Where are you at?

 

[Hairlesstwinkie]

Hi, Im new to the forum, and relatively new to knife making as well. I have forged a few blades from 1084 carbon steel, but have no way of heat treating it, as I live in a college dorm. Any suggestions of heat treating services i can send them to?

If you have a forge, an oven, and a magnet then you're set for heat treat. Since you're using 1084, you can google the temperatures that you need to quench and temper. Use a magnet to judge your temperature instead of eyeballing it. If you need quenching oil, just use old transmission fluid, used cooking oil, or anything oil really. You might can get away with water, I'm not sure since I've never worked with 1084. Hope that helps.

If I said anything wrong, I hope one of the more experienced knife makers will correct me.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

First - Welcome to Bladeforums and Shop Talk.

Second, filling out your profile would be a big start. Knowing where you live, and some info about you ( like being a college student) will help us help you. For all we know right now, you could be going to school in my town.

1084 is the simplest steel to HT. It can be done with only the most basic setup. How did you forge the blade? That probably is more than sufficient.

For 1084 all that is needed is to heat it about 50-75° past non-magnetic ( which is about 1414°F) and then quench in a medium fast quenchant. A gallon of Canola oil from the grocery store will work very well, and will last long enough to be used to quench hundreds of blades. Old motor oil and ATF should be avoided for several reasons.