What Happened to this blade

[KneeDragger]

After a long time of shaping, sanding and polishing. I went to harden the blade. From my readings you heat it up to non magnetic and quench in warm oil. So today I started and I just couldn't get the blade up to temp. So I put it in the quenching oil and went to work on something else. When I come back the blade is all weird looking. It looks like its IN the metal. Almost etched.
What the hell did I do wrong?
This was going to be a gift for Christmas
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps07049399.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps09c93ece.jpg
Thank you in advance

[Ray Rogers]

First, welcome to the forum. Second, stop creating so much work for me! If you don't like your post then update (Edit) it rather than re-posting it a dozen times. Believe it or not, I'm not po-ed I'm just trying to get you to be more careful. I understand that as a first timer your posts look weird right now. They will straighten out after a while, don't fight it.

As for your blade, the first thing you did wrong was all that sanding and polishing before the heat treat. Why do all that work before you know if the blade was going to heat treat correctly? Shape the blade and finish it to about 220 grit and you're good. If the heat treat works then worry about making it nice.

As for what went wrong, we can only guess because you didn't say what kind of steel you used or what kind of oil. But, you did say that you were unable to get the steel hot enough - that being the case, why did you put it in the oil? That will only cause trouble.

From the looks of the blade, I'm guessing you had it in the heat a very long time trying to get it to temperature. That could cause a lot of etching.

To be any real help, we need to know what steel you used, what kind of set up you have for heat treating, what oil you used, how long the blade was in the heat, how you decided the blade wasn't hot enough, and anything else you can think of about the exact process you used.......

[KneeDragger]

Well To me I wasn't posting ANY threads. It would say I did then there was nothing.
Anywhoo, Sorry about the lack of info. I'm using a Nicolas file to make a Tanto blade. Yes I know there are better ways (blade blank and whatnot). But I'm doing this for a $10 grab bag kind of thing and it's kind of a joke. This blade is not really going to be used for much. I already have the wooden handle ready for brass rods and epoxy and a wooden sheath. So if there is any way to salvage this that would be awesome.
Oil was Olive (saw it in a couple tutorials??) The "setup" was a lazy fire pit charcoal with a blower. I used a chimney starter and blower to anneal the file and it did great. Got it non magnetic rather quickly. Honestly I assumed I over thought it the first time so I figured just a pile of charcoal will be good this time. It was not. I had it in the fire maybe 45 min, and it started to rain something fierce, the blade was very dull red and still magnetic. right to the oil and out of the rain. dumb move I'm sure, but I was kind of annoyed at the rain and not thinking. So can I just re heat and start sanding again? or is it etched for good? I know (now) that I did this all kind of out of order.

[Ed Tipton]

KneeDragger....The pictures you have posted are not showing on my computer....But I'll respond anyway.
A Nicholson file is probably a good choice of material especially if it is an old file. A known steel would have been a better choice since even Nicholson cannot tell you what type of steel they used.
The olive oil is OK as a quenchant, but in the case of a file,,,it's possible that it was a water hardening steel. In any event water or oil, you need to be sure to get the steel into the proper temp range to do your HT. You actually need to go a little beyond the non-magnetic temp for a good HT.
From what little I could gather from your post, It's likely that you experienced some De-carbfrom the length of time the blade was in the fire. Depending upon the extent of the de-carb, you can probably go back and re-do the whole thing again without any concern, but be sure to attain the correct temps and try and determine if your steel is oil or water hardening. You can check that by testing with a small piece of the same steel. Try it in the oil first, and if it doesnt get hard...then try the water. If you're lucky..you won't hear the "tink".

[Crex]

The Nicholson file should harden nicely in the olive oil. They are purported to be in the 90 points of carbon range or more. You need your quench close and you need to have your tempering oven warmed up and ready to draw temper as soon as the blade is cooled down enough to handle. It won't wait over night without risk of cracking.
You need to heat the oil first to around 100*F prior to quench (use a candy T-meter and heat with extra chunk of heated steel).
Just a pile of charcoal is probably not going to work well without the blown air. The 45 min is way too long. This all should take place within minutes since the blade has been ground and shaped.
Would recommend a few normalizing cycles before you retry the HT quench.