Reckon quenching in used motor oil is better than water for most blades

I told the old guys at the Wednesday hammer-in last week that I switched to used 10W-30 for my carbon steel knives, and they looked at me like I had two heads. It gives a slower, more even quench that stops cracks, and I have not had a single blade warp since I started doing it three years ago at my shop outside Boise. Anybody else ditch water or brine for something with more give?

2 comments

2 Comments

river1835d ago

Huh. Motor oil can trap more heat than you think, careful on thin edges.

janahenderson5d ago

I had a buddy who used motor oil on his knife thin edges once, thought it would help with rust. He heated it up to dry it off and ended up with a small fire that warped the whole blade. Learned that lesson the hard way, motor oil really does hold onto heat longer than you'd expect. Stick to something like mineral oil if you need to treat the edge, it's way less risky.