[TheForge] Heat treating hammer heads

[Stephen McGehee]

Presuming that you are using 1045-1055, Grade 60 Rebar, RR track clips,
etc.:
Heat to a bit past where it looses magnetism and quench in water above
50 degrees F.  Heat a drift to red and insert it firmly into the eye
after polishing the ends(Polish the ends of the hammer first) and watch
for a bronze color to appear on the faces, quench.  In an ideal world,
there will be just enough heat to bring your temper down to the color
you want, then it stops, eliminating the need to quench.
The amazing thing about this advice is that all of these methods will
give satisfactory results.  If the chosen method produces too soft a
face, reheat and repeat the process, stopping at the next hottest temper
color.  Beware of getting the blank too hot during the process asyou
will get grain growth that you don't want.  Whale away.

Stephen