ben486•6d ago

Spent 2 years quenching in cold water before a retired smith set me straight

I used to bring my blades straight from the forge to a bucket of cold tap water. Thought that's just how it's done. Last month an old timer stopped by my shop in Tulsa and watched me work. He asked why my edges were so brittle. Told me to heat my quench oil to 130 degrees and suddenly my blades stopped cracking. Lost maybe 15 good knives in those two years. Anyone else learn a basic heat treat trick way later than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly_price6d ago

You ever notice how half of learning anything is just unlearning the bad habits nobody told you were bad? I spent three years sharpening my kitchen knives on a pull-through sharpener because my dad did it that way. Turns out that thing was basically a tiny angle grinder that chewed up my edges. It's funny how we just accept the first way we see something done, even if it's dead wrong. Getting that old timer's advice probably saved you a ton of future frustration. Sometimes the best lessons come from someone who's been doing it long enough to spot the obvious stuff we're blind to.

julia_jones726d ago

Wait, a pull-through sharpener is basically a tiny angle grinder? I always thought those things were fine, my buddy swears by his. I had no idea they could mess up your knives like that.