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Old blacksmith in Abilene said quench in warm water first, not cold, and he was right
Back when I started making chisels about 6 years ago, I kept getting cracks along the edge after hardening. I was quenching in ice cold water because that is what I read online. A guy named Ray who ran a forge outside Abilene watched me ruin 3 pieces in a row and said to warm the water to about 130 degrees first. I tried it on the next chisel and it came out clean, no cracks, and took a good temper at 400 degrees in the oven. Turns out the warm water slows the cooling just enough to keep the steel from stressing out. Ray passed a couple years back but I still use his trick on every tool I harden. Anyone else had luck with warm quench water or do you stick with oil for chisels?
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taylor_mitchell807d ago
Feeling that loss with you, Ray sounds like he was one of those old timers who just knew things from doing the work, not from reading about it. I lost my own mentor a few years back and I still hear his voice in my head every time I fire up the forge. Your story about the warm water makes a lot of sense too, because going from hot steel straight into ice cold water is a huge shock and the edge is the thinnest part so it takes the worst of it. Slow cooling just enough to let the steel relax sounds right to me. I mostly quench my chisels in oil these days but I have used warm water on simple carbon steel and got good results. Thanks for sharing what Ray taught you, that kind of knowledge deserves to keep going.
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