McMaster - Carr quench oil

[SCRAP]

Has anyone used the McMaster -Carr quench oil ? Did it provide good results ? They list a 11 second and a 22 second oil . I have been using vet grade mineral oil .

[Lin Rhea]

SCRAP, May I ask what steels you are planning to quench in it? Some steels require a faster oil than others and that might determine your choice. Lin

[SCRAP]

Lin , I am using mostly 1084 from riverside machine but I use some 5160 , I assume the 11 second would be the best choice for 1084 ?

Thanks .

[Lin Rhea]

If I had to have one oil, it would be the 11 seconds especially for 1084, but I would not get rid of the veggie oil yet. I suspect 5160 steel might prefer either just as well. I dont use veggie oil so I cant say. If you start getting cracks in the blades made of one steel, go back to veggie oil on that steel if it's been working for you. Otherwise, I would use the faster (11 second) oil.

Anytime you change methods, there is always going to be some experimenting. Watch for the steel to act a little different and decide if that is what you want or not. What has moved you to change oils? Just curious. Lin

[SCRAP]

I started out using old motor oil , trans fluid and such . I read on this site I believe Mr. Anderson recommended using vet grade mineral oil as a substitute for motor oils and veggie oils so I tried it and it is much cleaner and by all accounts from my limited testing does a very good job .
I saw the quench oil in the McMaster -Carr book and it is about the same price per gallon as the vet grade oil I use now so I was pondering trying it out .
Most of the commercial quenchants I have found were sold in such large volume a small time piddler like me couldnt afford to use it so I was surprised to find it in gal. size or 5 gal. size containers .

[Lin Rhea]

Yes, some of it way too expensive for someone just making a knife with most common steels. When you get into the W2's, etc and want a hamon, you need the right oil to get the effect, but for a good servicable blade, it just has to get hard enough and be drawn back to blade hardness. Lin

[SCRAP]

Thanks Lin , A question if you dont mind ? What temp. do you normally temper your 1084 at ? I have a skinner i have been working on and I quenched it last Sunday , cleaned it off and went into my tempering oven ( welding rod storage oven ) at 400 to 420 degrees by my oven thermometer for 2 hours , took it out and let cool then tempered again for 1 hr at same temp . When i started sharpening the blade it chipped on the edge in several places so i retempered it again at about 440 degrees by my thermometer and it took a good edge .
Does that sound a little hot ? or maybe my thermometer is out of kilter ? It was a nice straw color when it chipped and after retemper it had a light blue color and I am afraid it isnt going to hold a edge well but I havent tested it yet .

[Lin Rhea]

If you only raised the temp 20 degrees you should be fine if your thinking it got too soft. If it was chipping, it surely need another 20 degrees. Maybe more. I would test it some more by the brass rod test. I would rather let the actions of the steel have priority over what the thermometer says.

[kbaknife]

Originally posted by SCRAP:
..........I believe Mr. Anderson recommended using............

See that?   "Mr. Anderson"     :cool:

[Lamey]

Who the hell is "Mr. Anderson"?           Just ribbing you Karl,  you know im a fan.

Edited to ad-  You may want to find out what manufacture the oil actually is,  im sure MC just relabels it,   i think its made by Houghton,  if so I can send you the factory specs.


One thing you need to consider or look into is at what temp are the the 11/22 second times specified for?    Are they "room" temp oils, or at temp (120 etc.) oils?

Whichever you wind up buying if you start using 1095/W2 and want to get some nice hamons you will likely have to do some experimenting with your oil temps.

Another VERY overlooked factor is volume.  If you have 1 gallong of oil in  a small container and your trying to quinch big blades you will likely run into some trouble.  There has to be enough oil volume to properly "do its thing".    

When i jumped from a 2-3 gallon container that was only 20" or so long, to a container that was 5 foot long and held 5-6 gallons it really helped especially with the big blades.  

One of the problems i was having with the smaller containers with less oil is that my ricasso was holding enough heat to wick down onto the choil,  making it difficult to get a proper transformation right in that choil area.    That all went away when i switched to my "long" tank,  and upped the fluid to 5-6 gallons.   I do a full quinch and "cut" back and forth in the oil,  works best for me.

[Jeremy]

Originally posted by Lin Rhea:
I would rather let the actions of the steel have priority over what the thermometer says.

I should make some Yoda type comments around that quote, but I'm too tired and too sick to be that witty at this point in the day.

Mr. Anderson  great... now I the Matrix running through my head too  

[SCRAP]

Thanks guys for all the info.

Lamey , do you happen to know a Billy Trice or Johnny Brown from Jasper ?

[Lamey]

Scrap,   i just moved to Jasper about 3/4 years ago and honestly dont get out alot.   I will send you a PM.

[Scott Roush]

I finally got my Houghton quench 'k' yesterday.  Once you jump through their hoops the price is pretty good.  I was surprised to see that it looks and smells like motor oil!  I quenched my first blade today and, while it didn't flame up, it sure reminded me of my early days!