Why does nobody talk about quenching oil temperature control?

I've been forging for about 4 years now, mostly out of my garage in Portland. Lately I keep seeing people online and even at the local meetup just dunking hot steel into cold oil straight from the shelf. I did that for my first 2 years and wondered why my blades kept cracking or coming out soft. Then I talked to a retired smith at a hammer-in who told me to preheat my canola oil to 120-130F before every quench. It made a massive difference, especially with 1095 steel where the martensite transformation is picky. But half the folks I know say it's unnecessary and that room temp oil works fine if you move fast. So which is it, are they just getting lucky or am I overthinking this? Has anyone else messed around with oil temps and seen a clear difference in hardness?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_hernandez14h ago

That 120-130F sweet spot really locks in that 1095 edge.

hill.david10h ago

olivia's right about that 120-130F range, I watched a knifemaker on youtube talk about how 1095 really needs that steady heat to get the full hardness out of it without overdoing it. He said if you go too hot it'll lose its edge retention fast, but stay in that lower temp zone and the edge holds up way better for harder use. I tried it on a old Mora blank and the difference in how long it stays sharp was pretty noticeable actually.