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My old mentor in Denver always said to quench a blade in oil, never water. Last week, a guy at the forge told me water is fine if you know the steel.
Three years ago, I cracked a good piece of 1080 because I used water like he said. Now I'm not sure which advice to follow. What's your go-to quenching method for simple carbon steels?
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pat_coleman11d ago
That whole oil versus water debate is a classic. My uncle swore by pre-heating his oil in a big coffee can on a hot plate, said it stopped the shock. Watched him quench a truck spring leaf once and it came out singing, no cracks. But then a buddy uses warm water with a dash of salt for his simple blades and they turn out fine. Honestly, half of it seems like listening to the steel itself, you know? The sound it makes tells you a lot.
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