Watched a smith at the Midwest forge fest in Madison quench a blade in hot oil, and it fixed my hamon lines
I was at the Midwest Forge Fest in Madison last month and this guy named Dale was doing a demo on 1084 steel. He warmed his quench oil to about 130 degrees with a piece of scrap steel instead of using it cold like I always did. My hamon lines have been cloudy for two years and after trying his method twice at my bench they came out way cleaner. Has anyone else played with oil temp, and do you check it with a thermometer or just guess by feel?
The part about the hamon being cloudy for two years hit home because mine have looked like milk sitting in a glass this whole time. I've been dunking in whatever temp the garage happens to be and calling it good, which is probably why. Gonna try the warm oil thing, but knowing me I'll stick my finger in it to check and find out the hard way.