Overheard a guy at the scrap yard say he never heat treats his knives, just hardens them in oil and calls it done

I was at the yard down on Elm Street last Tuesday picking up some old coil springs when this older fella started talking about his knife making. He said he just gets the steel to non-magnetic, quenches it in canola, and skips the temper cycle completely because it's 'good enough for what he does.' Kinda made me wonder how many folks out there are skipping the temper and ending up with brittle blades that snap on the first hard use. Has anyone here ever tested a blade that wasn't tempered and seen how it holds up?

3 comments

3 Comments

troy8322mo ago

I mean, non-magnetic is just a rough guide, not a proper heat treat temperature for most steels.

riley_schmidt2mo ago

idk man, maybe it's just me but is it really that serious? like, unless you're trying to hit some specific hardness for a knife or something, non-magnetic gets you close enough for most stuff. @troy832 probably has a point for precision work, but for a backyard forge or a quick job, it's not like it's gonna ruin anything.

bettywood2mo ago

Wait, are you seriously saying you'd use the non-magnetic trick for something like a backyard forge and just call it good enough? That's wild to me. I mean, I get that for a quick job you might not care about being perfect, but steel can be totally different at 1400 degrees versus 1500, even if both are past the magnetic point. You'd be risking the whole project falling apart later if you're off by that much, especially if it's a tool or something that takes a beating.