My uncle insisted I quench my first knife in used motor oil, and the blade warped like a banana.

He swore it gave a better temper, but after that mess I switched to Parks 50 and haven't had a single issue, so what's the weirdest quenching advice you've ever gotten?

3 comments

3 Comments

nina_harris394mo ago

Ever hear the one about quenching in horse urine for the nitrogen? I tried it once on a small piece, and the smell alone made it a hard pass. Some old methods are better left in the past.

willow_garcia4mo ago

Did the odor actually affect the steel's properties at all, or was it purely a sensory nightmare? I've read about nitrogen quenching in folklore but never met anyone who actually tried it. Was the end result at least interesting enough to justify the smell, or did it just ruin a good piece of metal for nothing?

lucas_perez2mo ago

Oh man, that's rough. I mean, I've heard of people using all sorts of weird stuff, but used motor oil? That's like asking for a warped blade and a free trip to the ER. Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather have a straight knife that smells like nothing than a banana-shaped one that smells like a mechanic's shop. Urine, nitrogen, motor oil... sounds like a recipe for a disaster, not a tempering experiment.