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Old 02-28-2011, 07:31 AM
Ed Tipton Ed Tipton is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 352
Differential hardening or quenching vs. differential tempering

OK guys, I need some help in sorting out all of my information. I have just recently been introduced to 52100. Prior to this, I restricted myself to using only 1080 and 5160.

With 52100, I would like to produce a blade that is differentially treated...but I do have some questions.

If I use a "regulator plate" as does Mr. Caffrey during the quenching/hardening phase, this should produce a blade that is softer on the spine than on the edge. If I completely immerse the blade into the quenching oil, I will get a blade that is hardened throughout from spine to edge.

It is my understanding then, that by differentially tempering the blade that the hardness in the spine can be "backed down" to give a blade with greater toughness, while at the same time leaving the edge hardened to a greater extent..
My question is:
To get a differentially hardened blade, would it be better to differentially quench, differentially temper, or can such a blade be achieved equally well by either technique.
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