Why soak under protective atmosphere?
Why is it strongly recommended to soak the stainless steels under protective atmosphere? Cutlers used to dip stainless steel blades have experienced at least once: perform the heat treatment of a "naked" stainless steel room in the oven of quenchIt's signing for a few hours of extra work after the quench And the income!
Indeed, during the heat treatment of a stainless steel part, the presence of oxygen results in the oxidation and formation of calamine on the surface of the room - which causes additional work stages after austenitization and income. To save time and guaranteeing a quench Optimal, it is thus strongly recommended to perform the heat treatment of stainless steel blades under protective atmosphere.
Let's return a little in detail: First of all, this makes it possible to preserve the quality of the surface of the material by avoiding surface decarburization (disappearance of the carbon during the heating in contact with oxygen). In addition, this reduces the risk of deformation or cracking due to a reaction with oxygen (oxidation). Finally, this contributes to improving the mechanical properties of the object by guaranteeing a quench homogeneous and controlled. In short, soak under protective atmosphere is essential to ensure optimal results during heat treatment and ensure the quality and hardness of your treated steels.
Beyond the saving time, we win:
- Money: Less abrasive used!
- In quality: surface decarburization (disappearance of carbon during the heating in contact with oxygen) is avoided which is the source of a hardness drop (less carbon = less hardness) resistance to corrosion much less good.
What is used to soak under protective atmosphere?
Stainless steel protective strip
The first solution is to use stainless steel strip to protect your ambient air blade and achieving successful heat treatment. This strip is intended to withstand temperatures up to 1200 ° C peak, it is quite indicated for the heat treatment of stainless steel blades, even the most technical that would require a high austenitization temperature. As if to cook fish (but not in the same type of oven!), It will be necessary to make a papillote, in which you will lock your stainless steel knife blade.
Cut out your strip quench Good dimensions, drop your blade inside, and close the papillote. It is essential to hunt the air up to the maximum and to make waterproof folds to guarantee a good result: it will not hesitate to hammer the folds with a small hammer to close them properly. It is also possible to lock inside your stainless steel papillote from the small paper handkerchief ends: when they will consume, these small pieces of handkerchief will produce CO2, which will eventually hunt the remaining oxygen in the papillote..
IMPORTANT NOTE: Once the austeanization phase has been done, it is necessary to cool the part always packaged in his papillote!
PROTECTION PAINTING PROTECTION Z1100
For cutlers who do not want to waste time with folding, we also offer another solution to offer your blade a suitable protective atmosphere: the larger protection paint Z1100. This technical paint is studied to withstand temperatures up to 1100 ° C, for heating times up to 7 hours, see more.
How does the leadsal be applied on a knife blade?
Nothing simpler! Just mix the paint in its pot, until you get a very homogeneous texture. You can then apply the leadsal to your blade: either by means of a brush or by plunging your blade directly into the pot - in this case, let the part drain the room to avoid the "small drop" at the tip of the blade, which could ignite when of the Austentisation. In both cases, the applied layer must be very thin, a layer too thick could affect the quality of quench of your knife blade.
Does the leadsal clean each other?
After heat treatment, the leadsal is expressed relatively simply. You can remove residues with a steel brush, for example. And to clean your brush, you can use xylene - the water will not work properly.
You will understand it, these two methods of quench Under protective atmosphere will allow you to get the maximum shades of stainless steel that you choose to soak, while avoiding oxidation and calamine on them.
