Dedicated to the Study of Sword Making by Joe Kertzman

Author:Joe Kertzman [Fogg, Don]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4402-3308-1
Publisher: F+W Media
Published: 2012-07-21T16:00:00+00:00

Don Fogg centers the edge on the belt grinder.

The “bark” is ground off the blade.

The blade bevels are rough-ground.

THE OIL PLUNGE

The blade is at critical temperature and I quickly withdraw it from the fire and immediately plunge it into the oil. I am using a commercial quench oil called Tough Quench. There are many possibilities for the quench. A vegetable-type oil will work well, especially peanut and Canola oil.

I hold the blade in the quench until it stops bubbling, gently moving it back and forth. It is important to enter the quench cleanly and not to tip it to one side or the other. Doing so will almost guarantee warping. I like to think of this as the first cut the sword will make, and it is the moment when it comes alive.

After the quenching solution has stopped bubbling, I remove the blade and scrape off the clay. The blade is still too warm to touch. With gloves on, I sight down the blade, and if it needs adjusting, I do it quickly. It is still setting up and is somewhat pliable at this point, but you do not have much time before it completely hardens and is fixed.

The blade will continue to harden and curve until it is popped into the tempering oven, so it is a better practice to go from the quench to the tempering oven. Most of the cracking that occurs during hardening comes from the edge curving too much and tearing itself apart. This is a particular problem when water quenching and it makes the process quite exciting.

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