1080 1075 stock removeal walk through

[Wannab]

this is my 1st post so id like to say hi and thx for all the help ive been reading! i just finished my 2 brick forge and now i plan on ordering some 1075/1080 for stock removel blade makeing.

i guess what im looking for is a 1 2 3.... step walk through on the steps i need to do to get a useable blade. we can start with drawing blade on steel then cutting out. but do i need to anneil 1080. also a liile comfused on the harding proccess as well

any help would be great thx!!

[Ray Rogers]

1080 should be annealed when you get it. The basic steps would be to shape the blade by whatever method you have available, clean up any rough grinding marks so that the blade has a fairly clean finish, heat it a bit beyond non-magnetic, then quench in oil. Immediately after the blade has cooled in the oil temper it (toaster ovens are popular for this) at about 425 F for one hour two times. Then clean it up, and do the finish grinding and sanding until it looks like a real knife.....

[Doug Lester]

I will vary my advice slightly from Ray's. I would temper at 400 degrees for at least two 2 hour cycles. The reason that I go by two hours is a statement in a metallurgy text that states that most stress relief during tempering occures within the first two hours but a lot of people use a one hour cycle with good results. My attitudes is that it might not help but it won't hurt either. Some people also like three tempering cycles but with something as simple as 1075/1080 it's probably not necessary. Something like 9260 or 52100 that could produce a higher level of retained austinite I would deffinantly go for three cycles.

The reason that I would go with a lower tempering temperature to start out with is that if the blade tests out as being too hard you can go back and temper it again at a slightly higher temperatur. If you over temper the blade and it's too soft you will have to go back and reaustinize and reharden the blade and temper at a slightly lower temperature. You could even start at 375 degrees but I think that is more likely to undertemper a blade for knife use and cause chipping. Anyway, you will have to experiment a bit to start with until you know what you and your equiptment will do with a given steel.

Doug

[Wannab]

thx for your help Ray and Doug! Is there a perfered oil? Also wheen i heat in the oven dose it need to come back to room temp before the next cycle?

[huntforlife]

Yes the steel should be back down to room temp. prior to the next cycle. I use fastquench oil from Grainger on 1080. Works great.

[Wannab]

thx guys now to order my 1080 any fav on that or members id rather get from a member or sponsor.

[Doug Lester]

You could try The New Jersey Steel Baron, aka Aldo Bruno. Aldo is also a knifemaker. He carries 1084 and some other simpler steels. The 1095 that he carries is made with a better manganese content for heat treating. He also carries other steels that you may want to look at.

Doug

[C Craft]

I am not sure if this is what you are looking for but this was a 1,2,3 checklist for just such simple steel as 1075/1080 steel, I made for myself when I first started.

Do not take it for gospel and there is some over simplification of the steps. As I learned I begin to fill in the blanks in the information, but never wrote it down. Take it for what it is worth but it is intended a general guide to keep the right steps in the right order.






1. Forge or grind to shape

2. Finish to preheat treat level
Shape and rough finish all components of the knife such as bolster, handle, etc., etc.
leave blade edge thicker than finished edge at this point

2a. When forgeing --- normalize X 3
Normalizing is done by heating to about 100*F above critical
(red-orange or non- magnetic) and air cooling
(to reduce stresses in metal created by hammering and deformation of steel)

Heat to (orange ? red) and allow cooling to air temp X 3

3. Heat treatment
Heat to non-magnetic approx 1450* and hold 2-3miutes, quench in appropriate quench medium.
(This depends highly on the metal you are using at the time)
Quench mediums and heat treatment ranges are sometimes supplied by the company
that supplies the steel, I.E. (Admiral Steel)

4. Temper
Take steel directly from quench medium to an already preheated oven, and heat at
400* for approx. 2hrs. X2with some steels
Making a clean patch on the tang will help you to be able to recognize the color
change from blue to light straw color more easily

5. Finish to final stages
sanding, polishing, and final fit for components

6. Final assembly


7. Final blade edge