Hamon on 1095 steel?

flatgrinder

flatgrinder

Joined
Dec 20, 2005
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Hi,

I just made a really thinly ground slicer out of 1095. Can I create a hamon on this with satanite? Or due to the thin grind am I likely to crack the blade?

I heard water is the best at producing hamons, but is 1095 prone to cracking in it? Is there anyway to use water safely? eg. Interrupted quench? Quenching only the cutting edge? Combination of both? Normalize several times prior to quenching?

Or should I just use tranmission fluid?

Which one produces the most vivid patterns?

Thanks!
 
1095 is one of the better steels for creating a hamon with satanite. But your really thin edge may be a problem, especially in water. I get very active hamon with satanite quenched in oil. I don't use water but if I did I would leave the edge much thicker, like .080 or a bit more and quench into the water for 3-4 seconds, then out for 3-4 and back in. Also, after normalizing, an aust. temp. of 1425 - 1450 F with a 5 min+ soak will produce the best results. I would quench it in oil but there are those who would disagree ;)
 
1095 needs a faster quench than transmission fluid will provide. It needs water or a fast oil.I recommend Heat Bath #50. Water will work,but there is more risk,especially with thin blades.Clay coating requires a full quench or interrupted quench,depending on the effect you are trying to create.For your blade I would coat it with the Satanite and give it an edge in quench for a count of three,out for three, and back in till cool enough to touch.The oil should be about 100-120F for this.
If the blade warps,straighten it on the anvil or vise immediately,before it cools to room temp (preferably before it gets below 200).
For a good learning experience,make two blades,coat them both, and do one in water at 100F and one in oil at 100F.See what happens and compare the hamon.
Regardless of the method or quenchant used,the blade should be thermal cycled several times to completely de-stress it prior to the final HT.Also,with 1095 temper as soon as the quenching is done and the blade has cooled to room temperature.
Stacy
 
Ditto on what Don & Stacy said. I use Brownells Tough Quench though,and my quench is a full quench (no in & out) using satanite.I have managed to create some wicked Hamons with this technique.Ditto on Stacy's thermal cycling too. I forge in my NC Forge but do everything after that in my evenheat kiln. Normalizing usually twice in a S.S. Envelope then using satanite on the spine & PBC on the edge when going for a Hamon. I like the precision temps my Kiln gives me. I have found that I get better results creating Hamons by making sure a get good adhesion of the satanite.When that stuff dries it likes to shrink & crack a little. If your Blade isn't clean it will pull away from the steel & won't give you the Hamon you're hoping for (you'll get one ,but like I said,not the one you're hoping for). Clean really well with acetone , dawn dish soap.I also have tried using borax prior to application of satanite and it worked well too. Others will tell you they don't wait for the satanite to dry. There are so many ways to do it,all will render the results you're looking for. Have not tried H20 for quenchant when creating a Hamon so I can't comment on that.BTW how thin is "really thin"??:)
 
Thanks for the replies!

The edge was pretty thin. 0.008" prior to HT. After HT, I thought that I'd grind away some of this sacrificial material as it didn't fare too well in the forge. The edge is now 0.020".

Here's a picture of the distal taper:

distaltaper.jpg
 
Yep, .008 is much to thin pre heat. .020 is OK for small blades like this one. I like my edges to be around .040 -.050 when I HT, but most of my blades are 9'' to 15''.
 
If I might add a coment to what David Wesner said about the clay drying to quickly and flaking off; after coating the blade with the clay I place it inside a [tent like] plastic bag to slow the drying. This will keep the clay in place, thick
or thin. Leave it over night and it will still be slightly damp the next morning.
Fred
 
I put the clay on right before I stick it in the oven. So far, so good. Minimal cracking in the clay and when it does, I just fill it in after normalizing.

Note: the clay doesn't "pop" off like it does when it's dry. The inner 1/8" or so "sticks" to the blade and has to be scraped off. Extra work? Yes. But I know for a fact that the blade was "cooler" in that spot where the clay stuck. Produces a very good hamon.


I have also quenched in tranny fluid and gotten good results. Granted, it wasn't as bright as what I get from the Brownells Tough quench....but it was clearly visible.


Also, I'm careful to goop clay over the spine to about 1/4"-3/8" thick. Seems to cut down on the cracking and warping.


And I go straight down in the quenchant as fast as possible and hold until the smoke calms down.


p.s. I'm not a expert - just a happy experimenter...feel free to point out anything I'm doing wrong.
 
I do like Dan does. I go into the oven or forge with wet clay with never a problem but I do clean the blade very good before applying the clay.
 
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