H/T foil???

[dbalfa]

I almost got my H/T oven put together and am fired up to cook some steel! I wanted to know what is the best choice for H/T foil and where are the best places to order from. I use 0-1, 440-C, ATS-34 and may try some 10XX stuff.

What about the "coatings" I hear about, are they worth the trouble beyond working on hamons?

thanks-

[CWKnifeman]

stainless steel foil wrap can be ordered from most knife maker supplies or from MSC supply. When you frap the blade first wrap in plain white paper towel three to four complete wraps, then basically make an envelope for the blade leave anough excess for two sealing folds on the long edge and for the end. I use a rounded over piece of wood to press down the folds. I've never used any of the coatings, because using the paper towel wrap you should have minimal decarb during the heat treat(harding process). You may chose to take the blade out of the foil once it has cooled down,or as I do is to take the blade out of the oven and place it on a rack with a fan blowing on it directly then once it has been coolede down it can be taken out of the foil wrap without the posibility of damage to the blade. I actuallytried to cut the foil to take the blade out of the foil a few times after being told that it's better to do that by a supposidly more advanced knifemaker when he showed me the processhe actually cut the tip off of the blade. I tried it only for a very short time. Putting a fan blowing air onto the hot blade causes a force air purge which is actually what the books call for.

[Burke]

Enco has the best deal on foil. use it for stainless and other air hardening steels. use the other coatings for o1 10xx and other oil or water hadening steels.

[AcridSaint]

I agree with Bill, Enco usually has the best prices for foil.

[Don Robinson]

Use the SS foil only for air hardening steels. Not for oil or water hardening. It takes too long to quench in the foil, and too long if you remove the foil. The coatings are designed to use on oil or water hardening steels.

I use two heavy flat steel quench plates for quenching. The heavy steel soaks up the heat fast (good thing), and keeps the blade flat while it cools.

[J. Scott]

Don,

I thought that aluminum was the choice for quench plates. Would you like to expound on the use of steel vs. aluminum? I've never done either but love metallurgy and the chemistry involved in making knives.

[dbalfa]

Good info! Thanks fellows! Any preference on type of SS foil? I understand there are different ones?

[WBE]

When HTing 01, try The PBC powder. It works great for me.

[Don Robinson]

Originally Posted by J. Scott

Don,

I thought that aluminum was the choice for quench plates. Would you like to expound on the use of steel vs. aluminum? I've never done either but love metallurgy and the chemistry involved in making knives.

Both work fine for air hardening steels.The advantage of using heavy steel plates (mine are 1 1/4" thick x 10 x 18" approx.) is that the heavy top plate keeps the blade flat while it cools. The thick steel soaks up the heat really fast. Of course, aluminum soaks up heat fast too if it's thick enough.

Aluminum plates need a clamp over the top to do the same thing.

My quench plates were free. Scrap left over from a stamping die. There are holes all over them, but that doesn't matter. I screwed a couple of hand knobs on one side for picking up the top plate.

I don't grind my blades all the way up to the spine, so that the sides are parallel to the point where the distal taper starts. This way the two plates contact most of the length of the blade. My blades never warp while cooling. No need to straighten.

I remove the foil immediately after taking a blade from the furnace and place a piece of scrap the same thickness as the blade on one side of the bottom plate, then place the hot blade on the other side to keep the top plate balanced and parallel to the bottom plate. Within one minute any blade is down to room temp. Seconds for most.

And you thought scrap wasn't good for anything!

[dbalfa]

I wonder if you could use two pieces of old railroad track? Vise one piec upside down, use the other as the top press piece?????? Or perhaps some pieces of large I beam?
Aluminum seems to be hard to come by- but scrap steel....many more possibilities.

[Don Robinson]

Originally Posted by dbalfa

I wonder if you could use two pieces of old railroad track? Vise one piec upside down, use the other as the top press piece?????? Or perhaps some pieces of large I beam?
Aluminum seems to be hard to come by- but scrap steel....many more possibilities.

Why not, if your vise is close enough to your furnace. Be careful though, don't drop the top piece or you may mark the blade. That's why I have hand knobs on the top piece, so I can set it down gently and flat.

Be sure you file off any burrs or protrusions that might contact the blade.

[dbalfa]

Originally Posted by WBE

When HTing 01, try The PBC powder. It works great for me.

Not familiar with that. What is it? Where do you get it?

Thanks-

[S.Knowles]

Dennis, Tracy Mickley sells it ... among others.
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/store/i...roducts_id=650

Shawn

[Wade Holloway]

Dennis, Browning carries it also and they also have one that is a liquid that you just paint onto the blade.

[dbalfa]

Thanks guys, I ordered some from Tracy. But I am interested in the liquid, that sounds better/easier. I am assuming you meant "Brownells" and not Browning.......