Thread: Annealing steel

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

Bruno,

This new forum is fun. Tell me if you want me to shut up.

Before you try to anneal a piece of bar stock, it's worth trying to cut it or file it to gauge its hardness. If it cuts or files pretty well, then you might be better off just working it as is.

I don't.
I did.
And it didn't.


I don't shy away from anything atm, because anything I do can only increase my first hand knowledge about steel.
I filed before and after, and it is definitely softer than what I started with. At least the part that was in the core of the fire.

Here's a link to my ongoing discussion at bladeforums.com:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=554489

Sounds like your steel was hardened to begin with, so annealing is a good call.

Josh

If I manage to forge harden my blade then I always anneal it again before drilling the pivot hole.

Either drill your pivot hole right after the anneal or after the second anneal.

My grinders are almost done!

As a youngster in the 50's I was lucky enough to know a Welsh blacksmith whom had gone through an apprenticeship as a youngster. He would heat the steel in the forge, then put it in a metal box full of lime and close the lid. He swore by lime, and said it wasn't the only material good for annealing metal, but one of the best.
Ken.

There are other options for insulators as well, you can get ceramic blanket on ebay, haven't tried it myself but it's supposed to work similarly.

The ceramic wool blanket works well, thats what I use inside an old metal tool box.

Great! I have had a 2'x1'x2" piece laying around for a while, maybe I'll give it a shot this weekend.

How much would be necessary to make it effective?