I used to think quenching in water was fine for everything until a knife cracked

For years I just used a bucket of tap water from my shop sink to harden all my blades, thinking oil was just extra cost. I made a big camp knife, about 10 inches long, and quenched it like normal. It came out with a clean snap, but later I saw a hairline crack right near the handle. A guy at the guild meetup in Springfield asked what quench I used and just shook his head when I told him. He said the fast cool was too much shock for the steel I was using. Has anyone else had a piece fail from using the wrong quenchant?

3 comments

3 Comments

elizabeths513d agoMost Upvoted

Feel for you, that's such a gut punch after all that work. Seeing that crack appear later has to be the worst part. That guy at the meetup might have been a bit harsh, but he's not wrong about the shock. Water just pulls heat out way too fast for a lot of steels, makes them fight themselves. I had a smaller blade go the same way once and it totally changed how I set up my quench tank.

the_elizabeth3d ago

Wait, you were quenching a 10-inch blade in plain tap water? That's wild.

bell.felix3d ago

The blade was already warped from the forge, so I figured tap water couldn't make it worse. My logic was basically "well, it's already a lost cause." Honestly, the sizzle sound was pretty cool for a second.