Thoughts/Experiences with Anti-Scale compounds?

[ARCustomKnives]

Hey guys,
I was just curious if any of you have experience with anti-scale compound, and what your thoughts and experiences have been with it?

Any suggestions on powered (solid) versus liquid?

[sseib]

I have used this several times with mixed results, opperator error I assure you.

I think the trick is in pre-heating the blade and getting the powder to coat evenly. My problem has been coating thin areas like the edge and spine evenly, and not clumping or getting too much in an area on the sides. If you get too much in an aera in my experiance it will bubble-up and pop when the blade comes up to temp. Bubbles leave pits.

Next try I will use a salt shaker to apply the powder and set my oven to the recommended temp, let blade come-up to heat, apply a very light coating of powder, go back in the oven and re-heat to temp a 2nd time, apply a second light coat, back in oven to temp a 3rd time, this time when I pull the blade I will be ready to scrape any bubbles off or apply more powder as needed then heattreat as normal.

The great thing about this stuff is when it works it is a beautiful thing. I did three blades with engraving and in the pre-heat the blade goes thru the oxidizing colors, straw thru grey, coated them, heattreated. During quench the coating pops off and the engraving and blade were right back to the 600 grit satin finish and bright cut engraving as they came from the engraver.

The Brownell's stuff I think is good to 1600 degrees so I practised by normalizing the blades using the powder and had the major bubble problem that 1st try. I paid close attention when heattreating the engraved blades and only had a few pits in non-engraved areas. I think if I would have re-heated and looked them over one more time before heattreating I could have eliminated any pits.

Steve Seib

[WBE]

I use Brownell's ATP. It paints on cold, and works very well.

[Doug Lester]

I have used anti-scale that I believe that was sold by Mid West Knifemakers Supply. After I learned the trick of using it it works fine. One trick in using it that I missed when I first got it is to use boiling water to take it off with.

Doug Lester

[WBE]

75% of ATP comes off in the quench. The remainder can be simply picked off, or will pop off when rubbed with a rag. Is much easier to apply, and works as well as the powder type. It will also take higher temps that steels such as A2 require. With A2, it pops off by itself as the blade cools. I use a double coat with A2, just to be sure. I have used both powder and ATP. For ease of application and removal, ATP beats the powder. I used the powder for a year or so, but after trying ATP, have no desire to go back with the powder. ATP is also cheaper in the long run.

[ARCustomKnives]

I'm leaning towards buying some ATP myself, but I was curious of others' experience with the product.
Sounds like it works as advertised. I think I'll order some and give it a try.

[WBE]

I take my blades to about 98% finished for HT. Even the edge. I double coat the edge and about 1/4" up from it.

[ARCustomKnives]

Went ahead and ordered some ATP from Brownell's last night. Looking forward to seeing how it works!