1045 heat treat. Water or oil

C

Curious Mind

Joined
Jun 30, 2017
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Howdy...I came across some 1045 that i have been messing with.It forges ok but i am not sure when I heat treat if I should use oil or water. I have found conflicting advice . Now I know that 1045 is not the best steel for knife making but I am still learning and have a bad habit of finding out why I should not use something for myself.
Thanks in advance...
Doug
 
This is stright off a 1045 data sheet so it's probably the most accurate advice I can give you. I would ignore the tempering temp as your going to adjust that depending on the hardness you want.

Forging
  • Heat to 850°C - 1250°C (1562°F - 2282°F)
  • Hold until the temperature is uniform
  • Cool in furnace
Annealing
  • Heat to 800°C - 850°C (1472°F - 1562°F)
  • Hold until the temperature is uniform
  • Cool in furnace.
Normalizing
  • Heat to 870°C - 920°C (1598°F-1688°F)
  • Hold until the temperature is uniform
  • Soak for 10 - 15 minutes
  • Cool in still air
Stress Relieving
  • Heat to 550°C - 660°C (1022°F - 1220°F)
  • Hold until the temperature is uniform
  • Soak for 1 hour per 25mm of section
  • Cool in still air
Hardening
  • Heat to 820°C - 850°C (1508°F - 1562°F)
  • Hold until the temperature is uniform
  • Soak for 10 - 15 minutes per 25mm of section
  • Quench in water or brine
Tempering
  • Re-heat to 400°C - 650°C (752°F - 1202°F ) as required
  • Hold until the temperature is uniform
  • Soak for 1 hour per 25mm of section
  • Cool in still air
 
You can usually just do a search for whatever steel and heat treat specs or something along those lines. You can also search for the steel type and austenitizing temps and get results too.
 
A pontential use for 1045 is as cladding for san mai. IIRC, Murray Carter used a cladding of 1035 or 1045 equivalent with a core of Hitachi Super Blue for his original FS1 combat knives.
 
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