[TheForge] heat treating L6/1095

[gladish]

Hi, Grant

> Andy:  The L6 (Latrobe's version) often has a fair amount of molybdenum in
> it, hence the seeming hardness.  Best way to prepare for hardening is to
> fully anneal the billet in preheated sand, ashes or vermiculite to SLOW
> cool.  I prefer vermiculite.  It should cut/grind readily then.

Maybe that's why I couldn't drill the tang- I just let it air cool.

> Quench in
> room temp quenching oil.   Light mineral oil will substitute.

What about water quenching- is it bad for the steel?

> I temper my L6 blades to dark straw color,
> preferring homogenous hardening to differential hardening.

Same for sandwiches?

> L6 is high in Nickel, so it makes VERY tough blades, support of
> core should
> be no problem.

The L6 bar was thinner than the 1095, so it probably made a fairly thin
"coating" especially after grinding.

> What temperature/color range did you weld it in?  Gas or coke fire?  Power
> or hand hammer?

Coal (coke). Took good notes at a Fiorini demo a couple years ago. One thing
he stressed was welding at comparatively low temps, so I only took it to a
bright orange, barely into yellow, and used a probe to double check
readiness.
The welds were set by hand, and I drew the point out and forged the tang
under the LG, fluxing every heat, then beveled and finished on the anvil.
Funny- it's all stuff I do all the time- weld, forge, finish, grind, file-
just never tried doing it to make a knife...
Now I start to see how habit forming it could be! Really a fun project.
Thanks for all the info,
Andy G.