I finally tried quenching a small knife in used motor oil from my truck

I was out of my usual Parks 50 and figured I'd give the old 10W-30 a shot on a little blade. The steel, some 1084, came out way softer than expected, like it barely hardened at all. Has anyone else had a weird result with an automotive fluid quench, or should I just stick to the proper stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

park.wyatt1mo ago

What makes you think motor oil can't work? I've seen guys get decent hardness with old 10W-30 on simple steels, especially if they pre-heat the oil a bit first. Maybe your oil was just too cold or contaminated with fuel or coolant, which would really slow it down.

-2

the_miles1mo ago

You can actually pre-heat motor oil?

morganhayes1mo ago

Oh man, maybe my old oil was just as lazy as I am lol. I'll try warming it up next time.