Old timer told me to use a colder quench on my knives and I thought he was crazy

So this guy named Bill who's been smithing since the 70s came by my shop last month. He watched me quench a chef knife in warm canola oil and he told me to try it at 80 degrees instead of the usual 120. I figured he was just stuck in his ways but I tried it on a few test blades of 1080 steel. The edge came out way harder and I didn't get any cracking surprisingly. Has anyone else tried a cold quench for thin blades or is this just a fluke for that steel type?

2 comments

2 Comments

lee73314d ago

Well that's a heck of a trick. I've always heard that warm oil helps avoid cracking but maybe the old timers knew something about thinner blades we don't. I'd be curious to test that myself with some 1080 scrap.

claire6414d ago

Used to be a firm believer in the hot quench myself. Thought the whole "slippery oil" thing was just old wives tales. But then I tried it on a couple test blades, just straight up canola at room temp, and it was wild how much easier the hardening went. Less warping, no cracking at all on some thin stock I'd normally be real careful with. Makes me wonder what else we've been overcomplicating all these years.