steel choice and heat treat for beginner in canada
so far i havent been able to find any suitable razor steels locally.. perhaps some 440 which i understand is a stainless steel that may not be the easiest to work with or the best material.
im currently working with a coal forge with a hand crank blower, and dont have a pyrometer, though i might buy an infrared pyrometer if it is worth it. i've practiced a bit with mild steel, forging a bit, and grinding a bit on a bench grinder.
reading what i can on this forum about steels for beginners it seems like the following are recommended:
10xx steels from perhaps 1075 to 1095. it sounds like 1095 might be the "best" out of those, though 1084 or 1080 might be easier to HT. is there also 1085 as a steel grade?
i dont know about 1095, but i think folks have said that you have 1-2 seconds to go from heat to quench with 1084, instead of 1 second for O1. is this correct?
the 10xx steels want a fast quench.. many say water works better than oil, though a greater chance of cracking the blade. as i understand it brine quenches faster than water, is there also an increased risk of breaking the blade? some oil quench 10xx, in this case (or perhaps in all oil quenches period?) the oil is heated oil to reduce viscosity and speed up the quench (pot of oil on a hotplate with a thermometer?).. 10xx steel seems to be the cheapest steel of the steels i am considering.
O1 is said to be another easy steel to HT, though things can be more complicated that 10xx, how i dont know.
O1 requires a longer soak time than 10xx.. if i soak and get the temp higher than i need it is this a problem? O1 is an oil quench.. if i work with a commercial quenchant, and cover in foil (aluminum foil?) to temper will i stink up an oven doing this?
W1&W2 dont know much about these steels other than they are water quench, Charlie (spazola) i think uses w2 sometimes.. and one or both are said to be shallow hardening which isnt (i think) necessarily an issue with a razor as it isnt very thick.. any comments on w1 or w2? w1 and w2 are also not as cheap as the 1084 i can find..
so.. it seems like heating O1 /may/ be more difficult, and quench needs to be done quicker, but quenching it may be less likely to break the blade. still not sure on choice of quenchant considering i may be using an oven to temper..
seems like 10xx is cheaper and simpler to heat, though rate of breaking blades may be higher (at least if i use water or brine)
the difficulty of tempering either seems about the same..
at the moment im considering 1084 in 1/4"x1" from Aldo Bruno (the NJ Steel Baron) in New Jersey.. anyone have any Canadian options?
anyone have any comments on using a hand crank coal forge for HT, or an oven for tempering? what kind of magnet do you folks use, how do you manage a hot piece of steel and a magnet (attach the magnet to something?) does the currie<sp?> point change much for different steel? can i practice bringing a piece of mild steel up to temp just to get used to the process and colours and such and apply that to high carbon steel?
im guessing getting a good thermometer to check your oven's temperature may be a good idea..
lotsa questions.. i've read a bunch, enough to have lotsa questions, but not enough to know all the answers, or enough experience to know what i do and dont need to know to get started..
Re: steel choice and heat treat for beginner in canada
Try a local machine shop, they will have a supplier with reasonable shipping.
Eric