After a less than ideal summer, I have finally been able to get back into my shop to try the plate quench heat treat process you guys provided me last spring.
After carefully wrapping the test blade in S/S foil I cooked it in my kiln, which takes almost an hour to reach 1850 degrees, and held it there for between 25 & 30 minutes. Quickly stuck it between two large pieces of aluminum plate, pressed down on the top one while blowing compressed air between the plates for about a minute. After about 10 minutes it was cool enough to hold with bare hands. Removed the foil, and was pleased to see not a speck of scale and it is perfectly flat. I then baked it in my wife's oven (which she wasn't real pleased about
) twice for 2 hours at 400 degrees, allowing it to cool to room temp in between baking sessions. Ran a mill file over the edge, which slide right across it with a nice ringing sound and didn't bite in at all. Also tried drilling into the tang with the same drill bit that I used to drill the pin holes, and it barely even made a mark on the metal. So, looks like it is pretty hard and ready for the handle. And then testing!
So, THANK YOU for all your great advice!
However, I have a question. I had placed a piece of scrap cherry in the foil wrap because someone suggested it might use up any oxygen that remained in the foil wrap before any scale could form on the blade. When I unwrapped the blade, I immediately noticed what looks like a thin layer of color-case hardening over the entire blade.
Attachment 16579
Attachment 16580
So, in the mean time, is this color-case hardening effect normal?
10-26-2017, 08:48 PM
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