Mini electric kiln project

[scott.livesey]

Mr. Mark and Mr. Scott, I would like to ask you about some practical aspects of knife steel heat treatment.

a)      At what temp do you insert the blade in the kiln? for low alloy high carbon steel, 1475F/800C
b)      Do you use the heat treating foil? no
c)      How many preheat stages do you use and at what temps? How long do you hold the steel at that preheat stages? none, this is dependent on the steel you use and the source.  I mostly use O1/1.2510 precision ground flat stock that is ready to be hardened without pre-heat
d)      Can cooking oil be used for quenching?  yes, I use canola/rapeseed oil heated to 120F/50C
e)      Is there some time delay between quenching and tempering?  you want to keep the delay as short as possible.  I quench to room temperature then into ice water, scrub then into tempering oven.  


Jan