Is He Extracting The Urine?

F

Flagg

Joined
Jul 31, 2017
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72
:eek:

I called on my lad today, he asked me to take a machine part which he was altering to the blacksmith as he was very busy fixing machine.

This gave me a chance to talk to a professional, so I thought. he was up to his neck in work, no time for idle chatter.

One thing he did tell me is that when he want a wee wee he saves it for quenching as the wee has salt in it amounts other things.

What I wanna know/, is he taking the pi-- out of me????????????/
 
People used to do that about 1000 years ago before anybody knew any better. I think Theophilus had some recommendations along those lines, though I think he might have used goat urine... Some ancient cultures used to quench blades directly into slaves. I hope your blacksmithing friend doesn't read about that one....

At any rate, I have a feeling that Theophilus would have recommended something like Parks 50 or AAA had he been around today. Not only will it be much more effective, but it probably smells better too.
 
A good slave is expensive nowdays just as it was way back then. Further, Somehow it upsets the non quenching slaves, and those are too skinny for quenching anyway.
On the rare occasion I have extra cash to buy a slave... I get a chubby one and prefer full torso quenching. My buddy quenches between their cheeks.
 
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Brine quenching is a thing. The salt/brine quench breaks up/disperses the vapor jacket arround the hot metal item and makes it more effective.....

I have no idea what the salt content is of urine.....but I can attest, in no uncertain terms how bad red hot metal and urine combined smells awful!!!!!

I was not quenching anything to harden it..... rather pissing on a red hot rebar fire poker in the mountains ......


It would be foolish to water quench without extensive practice, and particular goals when you worked so hard on a piece. High failure rate...

Japanese sword Smith's who use water quench , have their clay coating method down pat....

And still loose blades to cracking....
 
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GoldSkula said:
We all have a piss bucket in our shop, don't we?;)
Click to expand...
I’m a Stock removal knife maker and Yes! I have a Piss Bucket in my shop!—— I water near the Flowers with it! Then it gets hosed in with water about once a week! Those flowers look better every year!:D
 
While urine quench was a thing long ago, it hasn't been used normally for 100's of years. At one time salt was very expensive in Europe (root of the word salary), and urine was free. Thus a urine quench in place of a brine quench was economical.

The old wife's tale about quenching in a slave's belly has long been refuted. It makes for a good story, but it wouldn't harden a blade much at all.
I have read that blood from butchering animals has been used in ancient times ( because of the salt content?). I suspect it was for the idea that the blade took on the attributes of the animal more than that it was a good quenchant.
 
Does this thread remind anyone of the beginning of the movie Red Dawn?
 
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