Oooops, I messed up there, I meant the square stock ones aren't good creepers. The metal they are made from is prob'ly pretty good stuff don't remember a creeper ever breaking even when run over by a derailed car. :) Hmmm... seems like the U section one would get the "leading ear" broke off tho?
Sounds good. :)
I don't have any first hand experience with Hamons just read about them and everything I've read sez 5160 is the wrong steel for those.
Only one I know for sure where it's needed is on the Japanese stuff.
If a guy wants to sell stuff I'd recommend the "knife-list" it's an email list where big names hang out. Used to be on it and it was cool. There isn't much money in making swords and knives unless you get famous is what I gathered. $4 an hour was typical at the time until you started getting a name and that sometimes takes years.
I got off the "knife-list" about the time Bob Engnath died.
Cool idea for blacksmiths now that you explain it that way. :) ...Since (after) you pull it from the fire you can test it. :)
Large volume is for mutiple quenches of bigger stuff. The additives in the quenching oil are what stop the fires etc. Oil changes temperature a lot easier than water does so if they really do mean keeping the tank of oil from catching fire they are talking about -way- too small of a tank for what they were doing.
I used a 3/4 gallon olive oil can for a long time and never had that problem with ATF and was pre-heating the oil too. But I was doing thin knife blades tho. The real quenching oil just plain ol' works better for me, I get better results, less warping etc. Much less smoke, next to no fire, better results, what more could a guy ask for? ;)
Old oxygen cylinders are easy to come by, some are rejected and some are stolen and can't be re-filled, so ditched. Only one of those I found was wanted back by the owner, a copper mining and smelting outfit near Globe AZ and that was only because I offered take it to them.
Alvin in AZ