My mentor insisted I try a vinegar quench on a leaf spring knife

Old Pete, who ran the forge down in Tucson, swore that a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water would give a spring steel blade a wicked hamon line. I tried it on a piece from a '78 Ford, and it actually worked better than my usual brine, giving a really clear, wavy pattern after polishing. Anyone else have luck with weird quenchants for pattern development?

3 comments

3 Comments

amygonzalez1mo ago

Old Pete knew his stuff, that's a cool trick. I mean, ignore johnson.ryan, some of the best results come from trying weird stuff like that.

johnson.ryan1mo ago

Sounds like a great way to ruin good steel.

dylan_green5816d ago

Ruin good steel? Man, I've ruined steel with way less creative methods. At least this one had a cool story behind it.