The whole 'don't quench annealed steel' rule I used to ignore

I used to think quenching after annealing was just old-timer superstition. Figured if it cooled fast, it cooled fast, who cares right? Then I ruined a batch of 5 good knives last spring because I quenched them too fast and they all cracked at the edge. I tested it side by side with a piece of mild steel letting it air cool versus dunking it, and the slow-cooled piece was way softer to file. Anyone else had a stubborn habit they had to break with hard proof like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

emma76815d ago

Used to be right there with you, thought quenching was just for hard steel and annealing was whatever. Then I messed up a set of chisels by water quenching right after heating them to annealing temp, had them crack straight down the middle on two of them. Tried the same thing with a junk piece of rebar, slow cooled one batch and dunked another batch, the slow cooled stuff filed way smoother. That's when it clicked for me that the rule is actually backed by real results, not just some old timer myth. Now I always let annealed stuff sit and cool naturally, even if it takes hours.

elizabeth43815d ago

Yeah that sounds about right! Nothing beats just letting it cool on its own.