An old timer in Ohio told me to stop quenching in water, took me 3 tries to listen

He watched me crack a knife blade for the second time on a Tuesday afternoon and just said 'oil is slower but it forgives,' so I switched to a can of vegetable oil and I haven't snapped a blade since, has anyone else gotten a stubborn habit broken by a stranger's one liner?

3 comments

3 Comments

mia4427d ago

You ever notice how the old timers always make it sound so simple, like it's just common sense... but it takes us three ruined blades to actually hear it? Now I keep two buckets out too, one oil for most stuff and water only when I'm feeling brave, and honestly the oil bucket gets way more use.

joseph_baker9d ago

Swing over to the canola oil trick myself a few years back after ruining a good filet knife. That old guy was right, oil just gives you that extra split second before the steel locks up, and it saves your heat treat too. Now I keep a beat-up coffee can full of oil right next to my quench bucket, and I only use water for stuff like chisels where I want that extra hard edge. Funny how the simplest advice sticks, just wish I hadn't wasted three blades learning it the hard way.

hayes.oliver7d ago

Wait, hold on, you put oil in a coffee can next to your quench bucket? @joseph_baker, you're telling me you've got a whole can of oil just sitting there ready to go, and here's me thinking I was clever for using a soup can.