Heat Treating AEB-L/Heat Treating in batches

[ThePerpetualNovice]

When heat treating a few knives at a time, after reaching the desired temperature and soak time, do you need to make sure the pyrometer reads the appropriate temperature before each blade is removed for the quench?

Until today, I've only been able to heat treat using a forge and have largely stuck to 1084 to keep things simple. Recently however, I was able to pick up a (tiny) Evenheat oven (good deal on local craigslist) to try stainless steels. AEB-L seemed the simplest to start with, so I banged, out a couple little neckers to try it out. I tend to work is small batches, 4-6 knives at a time as it seems more time-efficient. It's possible my only problem is the lack of both patience and experience, but after removing quenching the first knife, I got tired of waiting for the readout to climb back to the goal temp before moving on to the next one.

Specifically, I soaked 6 knives at 1995 F for 10 min, quenched the first knife, but opening the door caused the pyrometer reading to drop precipitously. I would then let it creep back up to anywhere from 1860-1920 F, but then I would get impatient and move on to the next one, figuring the metal blades were still close to that goal temperature. Is this sufficient, or should I really make sure each returns to 1995 before quenching? If I should be doing the latter, any suggestions on how to keep the temp of the oven up to minimize the wait time? Or some sort of rig to quench multiple blades at the same time?

 

[jdm61]

LOL. You should have called..Even with my big Paragon, i am gong to be sending my first AEB-L blades to Peters.

 

[ThePerpetualNovice]

Joe, I know, I know. But if you haven't figured it out yet, I'd rather do something myself (poorly), than let someone else (who actually knows what their doing) do it for me.

BTW, how are your anticipated line of mid-techs coming along?

 

[jdm61]

Working on vendor calls about all things plastic. Actually going back and talking to folks again who i talked to a long time ago. LOL I am trying to have a batch of 25 or so "pre-production samples" for Belgium in November, but we will see.

Joe, I know, I know. But if you haven't figured it out yet, I'd rather do something myself (poorly), than let someone else (who actually knows what their doing) do it for me.

BTW, how are your anticipated line of mid-techs coming along?

 

[jdm61]

Working on vendor calls about all things plastic. Actually going back and talking to folks again who i talked to a long time ago. LOL I am trying to have a batch of 25 or so "pre-production samples" for Belgium in November, but we will see. Once I get these AEB-L kitchen knives out the door in the next week or two, am going to forge a bit of damascus if you want to come by and laugh.

Joe, I know, I know. But if you haven't figured it out yet, I'd rather do something myself (poorly), than let someone else (who actually knows what their doing) do it for me.

BTW, how are your anticipated line of mid-techs coming along?

 

[Darrin Sanders]

I only do as many blades as I have room for between the plates. If all of them wont fit, I do the rest in another batch. 1995 is too high for AEB-L. 1950 with a 15-20 min. soak works great. If you don't do a sub-zero or cryo cycle the performance will suffer. Heat treating is a crucial step in knifemaking. Do yourself and your customers a favor and take the time to do it right.

 

[ThePerpetualNovice]

Darrin, yeah, I'm doing the sub-zero treatment via dry ice and acetone. The 1995 temp was one I saw online, ostensibly confirmed on Sandvik's site for their AEB-L equivalent, 13C26. But I'll try a lower temp next time. I am afraid I am not set up for plate quenching and oil quenching appears to be acceptable for AEB-L. Let me know if I am mistaken on that point or if you get superior results via plate quench. Finally, customers aren't really a concern at the moment; I am still at the giving-away-to-friends-and-family stage of knifemaking until I get a bit more proficient. But I do want to learn to do things right, so point taken.

 

[Darrin Sanders]

I went back to Sandvik's site and saw the 1995 temp.. For some reason I've never found that before. You learn something new everyday right. I guess 1995 wont hurt anything but 1950 has always worked well for me and my equipment.
Oil quenching is ok but not necessary. I prefer plate quenching because it helps with warpage issues.
To address your original question, if I were oil quenching AEB-L I would do them one blade at a time, but thats just me. I know its a pain to wait on the kiln to come back up to temp. but I think the wait is worth it. Again, thats just me. Good luck.