Question about quenching oil temperature for a spring steel knife

Last month I was working on a chef's knife from 5160 and my Parks 50 oil was maybe 75 degrees. The blade came out with a slight curve I didn't put there. Should I be heating my quench tank on cold mornings, or is that warping from something else? What's your target oil temp?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_nina16d ago

Ugh, that's the worst feeling. I mean, you put all that work in and then the quench throws you a curve, literally. Cold oil for sure can do that, it just doesn't move the heat away as evenly. I started warming mine up too, just like vera said, and it really does help. My target is usually around 110-120, it just seems like the sweet spot for my setup.

fox.david10d ago

Yeah, that cold oil warp is a real pain. I had the same thing happen with some 1095. Now I always warm my Parks 50 up to at least 100 degrees, just by dunking a hot piece of scrap steel in the tank a few times before the real quench. It doesn't take much. If the oil's too cold it just pulls heat way too fast and uneven from the blade. Since I started doing that, my warping problems pretty much stopped.

vera_foster3617d ago

That exact thing happened to me with some 1084. My Parks 50 was cold from the shop overnight and I got a warp. I started warming my quench tank to about 120 degrees before I start, just using a scrap piece of hot steel dipped in a few times. It made a huge difference for me. Warping can come from other stuff, but cold oil for sure can do it. What's the coldest you've run your oil without issues?