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Water quenching my blades for a harder finish
After trying oil and water, water gives me harder edges without cracking, which goes against what most smiths recommend.
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sarah_ellis787mo ago
What about how you quench? Moving the blade in the water might stop cracks by evening out the cool down.
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rodriguez.skyler7mo ago
Man, I learned the hard way about water quenching when my first blade came out looking like a modern art project. Caleb's spot on about the shock being too much for most steels. After that fail, I switched to oil and my blades stopped cracking like crazy. Moving it in the water might help a little, but if the metal's not right, you're just delaying the inevitable snap. These days I don't trust anything faster than oil unless I wanna make abstract sculpture instead of knives.
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calebwells7mo ago
Gotta disagree based on my own mess ups. Water cools way too fast for most steels and that shock is what causes cracks, sometimes deep inside where you can't see. The steel type is everything, and maybe you got super lucky with a simple metal that can take it. Oil just slows it down enough to harden without the crazy stress. Honestly, you might be getting away with it now but one of these times that blade's gonna pop.
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