How do you anneal?

[Mike Krall]

Kevin
I agree that research and development should be embraced.
That said, if I heat and air cool, and that softens the metal, why go further?

It's a person's right to, for sure...

Bill have you looked at the Eutectoid and Hypereutectoid threads that are stickied here in BladeSmith Q & A?

Mike

 

[scottickes]

Kevin
I agree that research and development should be embraced.
That said, if I heat and air cool, and that softens the metal, why go further?

You can anneal however you want.

But since you asked...

1. The benefits of proper annealing will result in steel that is even softer with less internal stress than your current methods provide.
2. This will allow you to profile and grind more efficiently.
3. When profiling, your metal cutting saw blades will cut the steel profile out quicker and add to the life of the saw blade.
4. The blade won't heat up as much during grinding and your grinding belts will last longer, thus using less abrasives.
5. In addition, it will be easier on your drill bits, resulting in longer lasting cutting tools.
6. When you go to normalize and harden after rough grinding, etc., you'll have the steel already in the proper internal microstructure, with less likelihood of warping in heat treat and possibly a better final steel microstructure.

 

[jdm61]

If you are annealing a blade in the kiln, there is nothing to say that you can't wrap it with foil to keep it from getting gummed up. You don't get scale per se at 1250, but you do get kind of a grimy ashy coating that is not easy to scrub off. My last batch, I did a spheroid anneal in foil after grinding and then a final normalizing cycle in the foil before I soaked and quenched using anti-scale and had all five blades come out perfectly with not a hint of warp on any of them.