Does This Grain Look Better?

[Pairomedicsfish]

By simply looking at the grain of this steel, does it look fine enough? I will address tempering in the next step...trying to figure this process out....

[Eli Jensen]

I vote coarse

[Ed Tipton]

Pairomedicsfish....The grain in the photo is definitely too coarse from over-heating. Grain of this nature can be reduced by heating the steel up to a dull red and then cooling it in air. Do this repeatedly for 3 or 4 times and the grain size will be reduced and the blade can then be re-quenched (without over-heating again).
The grain you're looking for is extremely fine where no individual grains are discernable. Ideally, the grain should be a smooth light grey like you would expect to see if a porcelain dish were broken
In this picture, it appears that the blade was definitely too hot when it was quenched. By getting it too hot, the blade will harden, but the strength of the steel is compromised due to the enlarged grain size.
If you have an older quality file you can spare, break it and you can see what is meant by small grain structure.
I suggest you take some smaller pieces of this steel and quench them and then break them to see what grain you have acheived. Do this until you can repeatedly get the fine grain you're looking for. This is definitely an area where practice will pay off in a big way.

[Eli Jensen]

Thats a good tip on breaking the file. I did that yesterday. PS don't use them as pry bars lol

[metal99]

I have first hand experience with the file "pry bars" lol not a good idea at all.

[Pairomedicsfish]

Practicing with small.sections of steel is exactly what this last pic was.....ok....too hot. I did anneal this steel. It went in at 375 for an hour.....testing to.destruction ......it flexed well before snapping. I put an edge on a.piece and it cut a brad without denting the edge.....