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A retired farrier in Boise told me to always quench my punches in used motor oil, not water.
He said it cools them slower and stops the tips from cracking, which saved me after I broke three punches in a week. Anyone else have a weird old-timer tip that actually works?
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pathenderson6mo ago
My grandpa swore by quenching in old bacon grease for the same reason.
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sean_walker455mo ago
I read an article once that said old timers used bacon grease because it was cheap and easy to get, not because it was the best oil for the job. It's basically just pork fat with some salt and maybe a little smoke flavor mixed in. The important thing is the cooling rate, not the fancy name of the oil. Some people say even used motor oil works in a pinch, but I wouldn't go that far myself.
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verafoster6mo ago
Oh man, that's a classic tip but it's a bit backwards. The oil cools it slower than water, that's the whole point. Water quenching is way too fast and hard on the steel, makes it brittle. So the old farrier had it right. I see what @pathenderson is saying about bacon grease too, that's just another type of slow oil quench. The key is avoiding that water shock.
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