JPH
Tiro

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It doesn't have to be red to be hot.
Posts: 17
Southern Nevada
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Hello:
Ya know..back in the 1980's when I was a Doctoral candidate I did a lot of research into different "legendary" quenching mediums that included water (fresh and sea), brine, oil (of various types..both petrol based and organic) wine, blood, urine (worked really well but the aroma would burn out your nose hair), ice, even a cadaver as well as some other liquids and well all I could come up with is this:
If the quenching medium was fast enough, but not too fast, to allow for the proper transition from Austenite to Cementite/Martensite the steel will harden.
Knowing what the proper quench speed is for any given steel/alloy is more important than whether the piece is forged to shape or ground out of a bar.
Forging, when done improperly, can really mess up a piece, and shoddy thermal treatment can only make it worse. When forging is done correctly it can enhance the performance and when this is coupled with proper thermal treatment you can get some outstanding end results...
Ya know..personally, as young as you guys tend to be that are posting here... (in your teens), this gives me a great deal of hope for the future of forging stuff out. I started at the age of 12, many eyars ago......working in my neighbor's blacksmith shop, Herr Hauffmann's place in NW Pennsylvania back in the 1960's...
If you all keep at it, you all can keep a dying craft alive for the next generation or two...
JPH
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