Good day folks.

I’m looking for advice on whether a differential heat treat during the hardening process is something that can be done with 1095 , and if so, what the best way to approach the process would be. Specifically...I forged a small full tang skinner for a customer (8.5” OAL, 3.5” blade, forged to 1/8”), which has some detailed file work on the spine along the top portion of what will become the handle. Initially, I worried that scale would become an issue around the filing during the heat treat process. Thinking of options to minimize this, initially I thought I would coat that portion of the spine with Whiteout or clay, but then thought about a differential hardening on only the edge, using a torch, as I’ve done that successfully with other 10xx steels. I’ve worked with 1095 a lot and the entire heat treat process is much trickier than say 1080/1084. My standard HT process for 1095 involves annealing, and multiple normalizing steps as well as multiple soaks at various temps- pretty much the method that Kevin Cashen has outlined. This is usually not an issue, as I can control the temperature in the forge easily. I assume that would not be the case if using a torch for the edge opposed to heating the entire piece. Thus the questions:

- can 1095 be hardened in this way?

- if so, how is the temperature accurately measured for the various soaks?

I’m not comfortable using the steel color as a guide, as the need for accuracy exceeds my current skill level. I can only approximate.

At the end of the day, the best process might be to fully harden the blade and re-sand the area with file work. Curious about your thoughts.

Thanks,

Mike