Cable Damascus Knife

[Bjankowski]

Do you make up your own brine solution? I want to try hardening a hoof rasp blade in brine instead of old once used Lou Anns peanut oil with corn meal floating in it.

I make my own
4 1/2 gallons water
5 lb. salt
32 oz. Dawn dish soap (blue)
8 oz. jet dry
Stir before each use and heat to 120 degrees.

[Bjankowski]

There's really no way to tell the carbon content of cable or a means to measure it. On this one I quenched it in oil and it did not harden so I re-heated it and quenched it like I do W-2 or 1095 in my brine solution and it hardened to 62 HRC.

PM sent sir

Thanks Austin I emailed you.

[Bjankowski]

Actually if you can get a mill cert it’s real easy to measure the carbon content. Reason I was wondering if you was looking for a certain amount of carbon content is because we have tons to cable where I work and I could get you as much as you wanted. We have to know the carbon content of all our steel and strand and cable because the carbon content will tell us if it’s going to be weldable or not.

I would think .70 is about the lowest to make an efficient knife.

[muzzlebrake]

Do you ever have any problems with cracking the blade using the brine quench?
The only one I ever quenched in plain water cracked about an inch back from the tip. I felt it all the way up the tongs and the rest of the blade did not seem to harden very much. I just use peanut oil now. I heat an 8"x4"x1/4" piece of flat iron to orange and drop into the gallon of oil to heat the oil then start heating the blade. Oil seems to be about 120 or so when I quench. I have no way of measuring but am guessing I get high 50's hardness since the file skates when tested. I then oven temper @ 375 for an hour. These rasp blade do get sharp and seem to hold a good edge. Some are harder to sharpen than other others but once sharp they stay that way. My knife making utensils and equipment are crude at best.

[Bjankowski]

Do you ever have any problems with cracking the blade using the brine quench?
The only one I ever quenched in plain water cracked about an inch back from the tip. I felt it all the way up the tongs and the rest of the blade did not seem to harden very much. I just use peanut oil now. I heat an 8"x4"x1/4" piece of flat iron to orange and drop into the gallon of oil to heat the oil then start heating the blade. Oil seems to be about 120 or so when I quench. I have no way of measuring but am guessing I get high 50's hardness since the file skates when tested. I then oven temper @ 375 for an hour. These rasp blade do get sharp and seem to hold a good edge. Some are harder to sharpen than other others but once sharp they stay that way. My knife making utensils and equipment are crude at best.

No, Since I started using my brine I've only found one hair line crack on a Damascus blade it that could have been from the stress from forging the blade. I've quenched tons of 1095 and W-2 that way. 375 degrees for one hour if you quenched it right is not enough, that blade will be too brittle. I don't ever temper anything under 400 degrees for at least two hours. I then do various tests on the blade if needed it will go back into the tempering oven for two more hours. TEST, TEST, TEST. Before I put the handle of it will test it on chopping antlers, dog bones and made sure the blade I'm selling to my customer is the best possible steel I can produce.
I sold over 2000 knives and I've never had one come back because it failed.
Did you see my the recipe I posted.

4 1/2 gallons water
5 lb. salt
32 oz. Dawn dish soap (blue)
8 oz. jet dry
Stir before each use and heat to 120 degrees.

[huntmaster]

I have a lot of old cable the oilfield people left many years ago on my place in Archer county. If you need any just holler. btw, do you have pics of your forge, hammer etc?

[Bjankowski]

[QUOTE=huntmaster;13021546]I have a lot of old cable the oilfield people left many years ago on my place in Archer county. If you need any just holler. btw, do you have pics of your forge, hammer etc?[/QUOTE

Thanks I appreciate it. As far as pictures I have a video on my Facebook page but you have to send me a friends request. Bob Jankowski.. I use a Majestic Propane forge like the ones you see in the show forged in fire. I use various hammers, tongs depending on what I need to do with it, and I have a several hundred pound anvil.
I was several years ago a full time blade smith when I retired, but was offered a consulting job with a six figure income that I just couldn't turn down. I still manage to make a 150 to 200 knives a year, I have a lot of long time customers that I try to keep happy.

[muzzlebrake]

No, Since I started using my brine I've only found one hair line crack on a Damascus blade it that could have been from the stress from forging the blade. I've quenched tons of 1095 and W-2 that way. 375 degrees for one hour if you quenched it right is not enough, that blade will be too brittle. I don't ever temper anything under 400 degrees for at least two hours. I then do various tests on the blade if needed it will go back into the tempering oven for two more hours. TEST, TEST, TEST. Before I put the handle of it will test it on chopping antlers, dog bones and made sure the blade I'm selling to my customer is the best possible steel I can produce.
I sold over 2000 knives and I've never had one come back because it failed.
Did you see my the recipe I posted.

4 1/2 gallons water
5 lb. salt
32 oz. Dawn dish soap (blue)
8 oz. jet dry
Stir before each use and heat to 120 degrees.

I made a 5 gallon batch this morning and did my first blade in it. Worked great. Not a crack or any warpage at all. The only thing was the blade squealed like a little pig when it hit the brine.
Thanks for you help.

[Bjankowski]

I made a 5 gallon batch this morning and did my first blade in it. Worked great. Not a crack or any warpage at all. The only thing was the blade squealed like a little pig when it hit the brine.
Thanks for you help.

If you hear it squealing you can do an interrupted quench, sometimes I do that. I like three seconds in the water and three out then plunge until cooled off to hand touch. The first three second is what's important with 1095 and W-2. I forgot how much it's supposed to drop in a second, somewhere around 900 degrees I think. I've been doing it so long, I don't even think about the quench.

[Codyo250]

nice knife

[mobrien]

Nice work!