Using new 1095, all sorts of problems...

[EdStreet]

Have something else to cut that steel with? Seems a jigsaw would be a very poor choice to use.

[jcoon8283]

Sorry it's taken me this long to get back to this thread, I've been busy, busy, busy!! I solved my original problem with the edge not passing the wire edge tests. I adjusted the tempering temperatures down 25? and it fixed the problem. But, Ive encountered a new problem with this steel from Aldo. It would seem that I am having some orange peeling showing up as I finish out the knives. With the 1095 that I was getting from Jantz it never did this, so this orange peeling is all new to me. Now I don't do any polishing at all, everyone of my knives is hand sanded with 220,then 400 and acid etched, and the only reference on the internet I can find about orange peeling showing up in knives is when polishing them. Could someone please tell me why orange peeling shows up from time to time in knives? I would like to try avoided it in the future if I can.

[EdStreet]

Orange peeling? as in rust?

[Doug Lester]

Are you talking about an orange peel texture to the surface of the steel? How hot are you getting the blade in preparation for quenching? You might be overheating the steel. With 1095 you need to keep the temperature under 1500? and soak for 5-10 minutes. If you have overheated the blade enough to cause this orange peel pattern then you're also probably have grain growth. To check you will have to sacrifice one of your blades. Something that you should be doing occasionally anyway to check on your procedure. The surface of the break should look smooth and satiny. Something like the surface of 1000 grit sand paper. If it is course you will need to repeat the normalization of the other blades and re-harden them.

Doug

[NJStricker]

Any chance your kiln needs to be calibrated? How are you measuring the temps?

[jcoon8283]

Doug, yes, it is an orange peeling in the surface of the steel. I am using one of sugar creek's big knife kilns, bought brand new just over a year ago. In preparation for quenching I hold my temps at 1495-1500? (It has a control knob not a digital controller so temps bounce a tiny bit) and I am very anal about monitoring my temperatures and not letting them get out of control. So if my knives are indeed getting overheated in my kiln, how can I go about testing my kiln and thermocouple to make sure that the read out of the thermocouple is the true temperature inside the kiln. Should a kiln or thermocouple need to be re-calibrated only a year after delivery from the factory? I know electronics wear out and sometimes just go bad but dang, it's always something lol.

[Doug Lester]

Ok, I have to admit that you have me here. Usually the orange peel effect is caused by overheating. I believe through alloy segregation. Maybe someone else will come up with another idea.

One way to check the calibration of your kiln would be to get a temperature crayon and check when it melts in correlation to the pyrometer. Tempel Stik is one brand name and I think they run around $15 and come in 50? increments. You should be able to find them at welding supply outlets or online.

Doug

[jcoon8283]

Well I just got in from the shop and here is what I found out. I have a few knives in various stages from blanks fresh cut out of the bar, to normalized and fully quenched and tempered knives. So I started going back through them, grinding away a small amount of the surface to see where the orange peeling originated. I'm not sure what it means but the orange peeling showed up in the blank that was fresh cut out of the bar, so needless to say it's been there since I received the bar. Albeit the orange peeling was much fainter than the others that have been normalized or quenched, it was still there.

[jcoon8283]

Here is a picture of the orange peeling that I am seeing. I thought a picture might help more than just me describing it. This picture is of two knives that have been normalized, but have not been quenched yet. I should also mention that the picture portrays the orange peeling to look almost deep like pitting, when in reality it's not, it's smooth. When I run my finger over the area that's highlighted on the knives I don't really feel a thing but grind lines.