Custom Machete Tempering and HT questions

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Danimal6513

Joined
Apr 16, 2013
Messages
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First off since this my first post, I'd like to thank all of the members of this forum for the wealth of information they've provided for me to begin knife-making over the past year.

Now for my question. I want to make a custom colima machete. These are my favorite style by far but they are impossible to find. I have a 26 inch imacasa one but i want a smaller thicker one for batoning and other bushcraft type activities. Anyway, how would i go about getting the softer, more springy heat treat/ temper that defines machetes. The steel will be .125 1080. It will be small enough to temper in my oven but i don't know tempurature or time. I'm assuming it should be longer and hotter since i want a low enough hardness to sharpen it with a file in the field. Also, is there anything special i should keep in mind for heat treating it? I have Treated all of my other blades with a charcoal grill and hair drier, bringing the blade to non magnetic, and motor oil quenching. Any tips for evenly heating such a long blade in these conditions. I don't want a safety hazard that might snap with heavy use and abuse (within reason of course). Any tips would greatly appreciated -Thanks
 
Several things:

1. Switch to canola oil. Motor oil is too slow, and especially the used stuff has all kinds of nasty crap you don't want in your oven.
2. You might consider a muffle furnace for the hardening phase. Use a piece of ungalvanized pipe big enough for the blade to fit in, then heat the pipe evenly in the forge. When it's good and orange all over (you may need to rotate it), while it's still in the forge, stick the blade in and heat it in the pipe. It evens out the heat and keeps from overheating and burning up the blade. With a solid fuel forge, you'll need a bigger fire than usual, but it's worth it. Some variation of the Tim Lively forge (even built as a ground forge) would do well for long heats.
3. How hot does your oven get?
 
Thanks I'll try the pipe idea for all my knives. Also my oven could probably handle up to 500 degrees or so, maybe a bit more. I've never really tried to push it past that.
 
I use 5160 for my bush swords (and most other blades), and I don't draw them back enough to sharpen with a file (just a whetrock). That being said, I temper three times for an hour each at 400. For 1080 at a softer temper, bump the temperature up. I'm not sure by how much, but 500 is surely enough. Try 450 for an hour three times, put on a temporary handle, and try it out. If the temper is where you want it to be, finish it out. If it's harder than you want, put it back in and bring the temperature up to 475 for an hour. Try it again. If it's still harder than you want, try it at 500.
 
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