After a little poking around the net looking for quenching oil and trying to find a Canadian supplier for #50 Parks I came across "Chevron Quenching Oil 70" and available at Canadian distribution centers. Sent a email and hope to see what the damage is next week. My thinking this might be just the ticket for 1095 steel, 3/16" and thinner can be quenched in water but oil is safer so this may be the next best thing. From the web site: Almost as fast as water in a oil Quenchant but slows down as the temperature drops to reduce shock. Controlled cooling of metals — Combines the high initial quenching speed of water with slow final quenching speed of oil. Chevron Quenching Oil 70 provides a high initial cooling rate inducing maximum hardness, yet once the critical transformation temperature is passed, the ideal fluid cooling rate decreases to help eliminate the possibility of stresses and metal distortion. When deep and uniform hardening is required in steels having small grain size or wide variation in grain size In steels with lean alloy content In parts having variable sections or odd shapes http://canada.chevronlubricants.com/en_CA/products/products/chevron-quenching-oil-70.html
I am still using heated canola but this got me curious. This oil looks like it would be considered an 11 second , or "medium" quench oil .. from what I have read on the interwebs I thought that simple steels usually do better with a fast oil like parks 50?
Was looking for quenching speed on this in relation to water and Parks 50 but got side tracked. found same speed reference in a few places as (7.5 seconds)
I was trying to find what I read before but instead found this condensed version. A thread from Kevin Cashen. Medium Speed oils (good for 5160, 52100, O-1, L6 and other alloyed steels) Gulf Super Quench 70 Viscosity (SUS @ 100F): 81.4, Nickel Ball Speed: 10-12, Time to reach 200C: 41 seconds Chevron Quenching Oil 70 Viscosity (SUS @ 100F): 82, Nickel Ball Speed: 10.5, Time to reach 200C: 43 seconds Sources to find it- http://www.chevronlubricants.com/pro...ng-fluids.aspx Houghtoquench G Viscosity (SUS @ 100F): 100, Nickel Ball Speed: 10-12, Time to reach 200C: NA Sources to find it- http://www.houghtonintl.com/en-us/pr.../default.aspx# http://www.industrial-oil.net/metalw...uench-oil.html Park AAA Viscosity (SUS @ 100F): 85, Nickel Ball Speed: 9-11, Time to reach 200C: 49.62 seconds Sources to find it- http://www.maximoil.com/ Citgo Quench oil 0510 Viscosity (SUS @ 100F): 58, Nickel Ball Speed: 14.5, Time to reach 200C: 39.5 seconds Sources to find it- http://hkoil.com/industrial-lubrican...s#.UNNR6obhdVI http://www.westernstatesoil.com/IN_MetalOils.html Fast Speed oils (good for simple carbon steels like 1075, 1080, 1084, 1095, W1 and W2) Houghtoquench K Viscosity (SUS @ 100F): 77, Nickel Ball Speed: 7-9, Time to reach 200C: NA Sources to find it- http://www.houghtonintl.com/en-us/pr.../default.aspx# http://www.industrial-oil.net/metalw...uench-oil.html Park #50 Viscosity (SUS @ 100F): 45, Nickel Ball Speed: 7-9, Time to reach 200C: 36 seconds Sources to find it- http://www.maximoil.com/
Looked at the speed for initial quench with Chevron Quenching Oil 70 and it is a little slow for what is needed for 1095. thanks for the links saved them and plan on a little shopping.
Chevron in Canada discontinued selling the product but they pointed me towards Wallover Wocoquench 1015 from Oil Mart 100% mineral oil and a 10.5 second quench on the GM Quenchometer http://oilmart.com/products.php?category_id=202
i have also been curious as to the specs on mineral oil. My parents are veterinarians so I could probably get the good stuff at a decent price.
If cheaper than canola it would work on 01 very well and a bunch of stainless steels. From looking at the TTT diagram for 1084 and 1095 it is a little slow for best results.
Yeah i'm sticking with simple carbon for now cause I have lots of it. I thought about O1 but I use my eyes and a forge to heat treat so it isn't as newbie friendly as most think in that situation. Can't unlock it's full potential as easy. Plus I kinda like taking old junk and turning it into new junk knives...
i am new to knife making and having a devil of a time finding a source for commercial quench oils around Kelowna, Kamloops, Salmon Arm BC. If anyone knows of a source I would appreciate the info. Also I see a lot of knife makers are using Canola oil, how does it compare with motor oil? I am working with old files for now but after a bit of practice will be moving up to 1084
Old motor oil is of unknown quench speed and contamination of every batch will be different so it's best to just leave it for recycling. Canola oil or 100% mineral oil can be used and the later is sold as a slow quenching oil under a few different names. Canola from grocery store and mineral oil from a vet supplier if there is one around. I will be getting a quote for four pails of #50 parks or it's equal next week but like the condursal the shipping and taxes can be pretty high , enough to make selling in a retail environment a poor choice even without a markup
i've had several people (who know more than i do) recommend canola oil. I've been using it on 01 and 1084 (the only two steels i've used so far) and it seems to work equally well in both. At least according the file "skate test". One thing i have noticed about canola oil is that i can almost never get it to light on fire. I think it's only done it twice in 12 attempts. I'm not going for that, necessarily, but it makes me wonder if there should be flames. Anyway, it seems to work fine so i don't question it too much.
Canola starts at 130F approximately and if you quench enough knives to get the oil to its flash point then you need to take a break. I have gotten it to smoke a couple of times by doing several blades but stop when I start getting a vapour cloud, don't want any loud bangs.
I'm a big fan of canola oil. It's cheap, available, and does the job. Purpose made quench oils are great, and if you use more exotic steels than basic 10 series or O1, you probably need it. For the rest of us, canola makes good knives. That would be a good thing. The dramatics of Forged in Fire aside, if your oil is on fire, you didn't get the blade in fast enough. (edge quenching excepted).
