O
11

Rant: My uncle told me to always quench a blade in used motor oil. It ruined a good piece of 1080.

He swore by it for years, said it was slower and made for a tougher blade. I tried it on a hunting knife blank I'd been working on for a week. The blade came out with a weird, soft spot and warped like a banana. Now I stick to Parks 50 for that steel. Anyone else have a 'trusted' tip that completely backfired?
3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
3 Comments
rileynelson
rileynelson18d agoMost Upvoted
My buddy's dad insisted on quenching in bacon grease for a "non-stick" edge. Sounded nuts but he tried it. The blade came out with a weird crust and zero hardness. Had to scrap the whole thing.
8
michaelk23
michaelk2318d ago
That's a classic old wives tale that pops up on the forums every so often. Read a whole thread once where a guy swore by used motor oil, said it worked like a charm. Sounds like the bacon fat just carbonized and acted like an insulator, so the steel never got cold fast enough. Really goes to show that sometimes the old ways are just wrong, not secret knowledge. Feel bad for your buddy having to bin a finished blade over that.
3
jade_singh
jade_singh18d ago
But did it actually ruin the blade?
2