help with a tough blade

[Justin]

i made a knife out of 1095 i cut and ground for hours and then i heat treated it in my barbque cause im in and apartment and i used lazzari messqute charcoal and got it to an even non-magnetic then i quenched it imediatly in used motor oil (30 weight) then i cleaned it as best i could and tempered it in my oven for 1 hour at 500 and after i cleaned it and put an edge on it i thought it was strong and holding and edge and it does compared to the wood and such but i cant get it to shave my arm and it seems like it just loses its edge so soon i know i did things all unkosher but how can i make a strong blade for survival uses that is considered tough or tougher than most of the junk that say they work but dont i wanna be able to throw it around a little and chop wood with it(i have a gut hook on it and two different blade grinds on it one for the axe part and one for a draw knife) but still be able to skin a deer or shave with it oh i used 1/4 thick bar of 1095 thanks for your help (im new)

[Mark Van Loon]

500 was probably a little high a temp. for tempering, always start low and go up at 25 deg intervals if the blade is too hard, i would start the tempering temp for 1095 quenched in oil at around 325.

[Fox Creek]

Ya, I think Mark is right. I would aim for 385-390 degrees (F) for a multiple temper. You could got to 425 or so for a softer blade that would be very tough but work well on a butchers steel. For a survical/Camp Knife, often a slightly softer blade is desired. Insures field expedient resharpening.

[Jan Dox]

You say you can't get it shaving and it loses its edge fast: Normally even "soft" blades at 54HRC can get shaving sharp, but don't stay long. One of the possible problems is a remaining wire on the edge, That slices and cuts well, but doesn't shave.A blade like that should be "steeled" regularly (like a butcher's)to put the edge back. It's important to remove that wire. I normally do it on a piece of cardboard box,but a leather strap can give a better result. I have been struggling to get shaving sharp edges before I started stropping my blades after sharpening.
What colour did your knife get after temper in the oven? I usually go to light yellow or straw. You can always harden again and temper at a lower temp. and if it's too hard, temper again a bit higher temperature. You can always raise your temp., but you can't go back.
I hope this helps solve part of your problem.

Jan

[Justin]

now that its hardened and tempered can i just redo the hardening and tempering steps again or do i have to anneal it again too and should i take the edge off before the heat treat or does it not matter? thanks for all your help

[Jan Dox]

You could anneal, but if there is no warpage you can reharden right away. When multiple quenching we do the heating and quenching up to three times in a row.you don't have to take the edge of, because the thin outer layer you can loose through decarburation will be ground of anyway with resharpening.

jan

[Justin]

thanks jan so i can just heat,quench & temper right away if theres no warpage(just making sure) my knife is large its based on this one made by TOPS Knives

[T. Hendrickson]

ive been tempering at 400 for 1095

[hammerdownnow]

Thought you might like to see a pic of an original Tom Brown Tracker.

Edit: Made by Dave Beck I believe.
can't believe no one caught that one.