Ronald, with the steels we use, 1084, 5160, etc. the forging range is usually between 1700 to 2000 or so. The steel going non magnetic indicates the steel has reached the temperature of transformation, about 1440. So it is going to be lower than our normal forging range. You are looking for more of a bright orange. The steel will move better at the higher temps. Of course you will have to normalize after forging to relieve stress and reduce grain size. It really helps to see someone doing a forging demo, say like you would see at a hammer in, or taking the Intro course at one of the schools.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Brion

I forgot to mention, go to the ABS youtube channel and look at the forging videos there. Lin specifically mentioned Nick Rossi's videos and I agree, Nick knows his way around an anvil and steel, very good videos.

Thank you for your time Mr.Tomball in I appreciate it. I'm going to definitely check the video you recommend. I definitely want to know exactly when the steel is ready. On my first one I really didn't know for sure, so after it went non magnetic I let it soak for another 5 min or so. So I probably got extremely lucky. Thank you.

I apologize for miss pronouncing your name Mr. Tomberlin. Thanx again for your time.

|quoted:

Ronald, with the steels we use, 1084, 5160, etc. the forging range is usually between 1700 to 2000 or so. The steel going non magnetic indicates the steel has reached the temperature of transformation, about 1440. So it is going to be lower than our normal forging range. You are looking for more of a bright orange. The steel will move better at the higher temps. Of course you will have to normalize after forging to relieve stress and reduce grain size. It really helps to see someone doing a forging demo, say like you would see at a hammer in, or taking the Intro course at one of the schools.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Brion

I forgot to mention, go to the ABS youtube channel and look at the forging videos there. Lin specifically mentioned Nick Rossi's videos and I agree, Nick knows his way around an anvil and steel, very good videos.

Excellent answer Brion. The loss of magnetism (known as the Currie point) for iron is listed in the books as 1414F, but I have found a range from 1414F to around 1426F depending on some alloying effects. It is probably best to save the magnet for things like normalizing and pay more attention to decalescence when forging. When the steel is entirely austenitic and most responsive to forging it will have a color that occurs after the shadow has left it. The shift to austenite is an endothermic reaction, i.e. it requires more energy (heat and light) to complete the transformation and so while the shift (recrystallization) is occurring the steel will dim, but as soon as the process is complete the steel will brighten again. In this way the steel is actually telling you its ideal forging temperature if you learn to recognize it.

|quoted:

Ronald, with the steels we use, 1084, 5160, etc. the forging range is usually between 1700 to 2000 or so. The steel going non magnetic indicates the steel has reached the temperature of transformation, about 1440. So it is going to be lower than our normal forging range. You are looking for more of a bright orange. The steel will move better at the higher temps. Of course you will have to normalize after forging to relieve stress and reduce grain size. It really helps to see someone doing a forging demo, say like you would see at a hammer in, or taking the Intro course at one of the schools.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Brion

I forgot to mention, go to the ABS youtube channel and look at the forging videos there. Lin specifically mentioned Nick Rossi's videos and I agree, Nick knows his way around an anvil and steel, very good videos.

Hello Mr. Tomberlin, I subscribed to the ABS you tube channel and watched all of Mr. Rossi's videos. I definitely did not have my steel at proper temp. The other thing I noticed in his videos was the water dripping off his anvil. I'm figuring he is using the extremes from water and hot steel to blow the Slagle off. I read brief description in a book. Is using water on your anvil a common practice for bladesmithing? And is the process as simple as pouring some water on your anvil before each forging? Thank you again sir for your time and patience.

|quoted:

Excellent answer Brion. The loss of magnetism (known as the Currie point) for iron is listed in the books as 1414F, but I have found a range from 1414F to around 1426F depending on some alloying effects. It is probably best to save the magnet for things like normalizing and pay more attention to decalescence when forging. When the steel is entirely austenitic and most responsive to forging it will have a color that occurs after the shadow has left it. The shift to austenite is an endothermic reaction, i.e. it requires more energy (heat and light) to complete the transformation and so while the shift (recrystallization) is occurring the steel will dim, but as soon as the process is complete the steel will brighten again. In this way the steel is actually telling you its ideal forging temperature if you learn to recognize it.

Hello Mr Cashen, thank you also for the in depth info on the transformation process of forging. Is there a book that you could recommend that focuses more on the transformative process of forging. Thank you sir for your time and patience.