01 Heat treat on first knife did pretty good

[AVigil]

Making that first knife out of 01 was pretty fun. I had watched Wally Hayes knifemaking video where he made 2 knives from 01 and heat treated with a little forge, so I figured I would give it a go until I get my heat treat forge built.

I did a chisel grind on the blank and decided to bring it to critical and let it come back to room temp two times to help remove any stress to the steel from the grinding. I used a weed burning torch which puts out a big flame and can bring the blank up to temp gradually. The blank was coated with clay on the spine. When I heat treated it I brought it to critical checking with a magnet and keep it at the same color while it soaked for 10 minutes. Checking for critical with a magnet and then quickly quenched in heated canola oil. When it stop smoking I removed it from the canola. I cleaned the blade and check the edge with a file. Then I put it in an oven at 400* for an hour then let it come to room temp and repeated 2 more times.

Now I know I probably did not get the full potential from the 01 but this is what I did get from the little 3.5" blade.

I cut through 1" hemp rope 50 times
Chop and carved through 1x2" oak board
Made 100 cuts through card board from a moving box.
It still sliced paper and actually could still shave a few hairs.

I gave it a few licks on a ceramic stick and the edge was a good as new and could shave easily.

I have owned several custom knives made from 440c and ATS 34 over the decades and must say this little knife performed better then all of them.

So I am pretty happy.

So while it might not be "At the steels fullest potential" it is at the fullest potential I will ever call on it to perform....So that is a good thing.

Thanks again for all the instruction here and a special thanks to Tai Goo for speaking up for "Go for it and try it yourself" advice.

 

[RWT]

Thanks for the post. This will help me decide on which steel to have a custom made from. If I can expect this type of performance from O1 then I believe it will hold up to my needs. I do have one question though. How does O1 stand up to prying? I have broken the tip on a few by digging staples out of a fence post out in the pasture. Do I need to have the maker leave the tip thick?

 

[AVigil]

Good question.

I know many guys love to test their knives not as a knife but as a pry bar. I don't do that any more then I would test it for being a throwing knife. For me I do not want the knife to break from normal knife use. In the video of Wally Hayes he took the little neck knife he made that was heat treat with clay on the spine and bent that thing 90* without breaking or chipping.

 

[RWT]

I don't try to break them, but when out and I see a fence that needs repair and I am not walking back 1/2 mile for a set of fence tools. Surprisingly I run into this often while scouting for deer or hunting coyotes/hogs. If it can be broken a cow will do it. I run into the same issue when having to use it as a screwdriver. I know I should carry a multitool, but more than one item on my belt is enough. When I do have a custom built I will have them extend the tang and narrow the center of it to act as a screwdriver but leave the outside edges round and smooth for comfort.

 

[AVigil]

That sounds to much like real work...lol

As for those damn cows breaking your stuff, I will dedicate my life to having them killed and served up on the BBQ just to make things right

 

[Tai Goo]

I have owned several custom knives made from 440c and ATS 34 over the decades and must say this little knife performed better then all of them.

So I am pretty happy.

So while it might not be "At the steels fullest potential" it is at the fullest potential I will ever call on it to perform....So that is a good thing.

Thanks again for all the instruction here and a special thanks to Tai Goo for speaking up for "Go for it and try it yourself" advice.

Glad that worked out so well.

So, you heated it just with the weed burner? No forge or muffle? I guess if I was going to HT with a torch it would be a weed burner,… puts out that nice big fluffy reducing flame.

 

[mgysgthath]

RWT an idea might be a custom knife with a pommel extension (or shape) specifically for your prying purposes.. it could be tempered to spring at the back and leaving the blade end sharp and hard.

 

[RWT]

That is exactly what I am looking for. Possibly a V notch in the pommel flattened on one end to act as a screwdriver/mini pry bar.

 

[BMK]

Great post. You used simple equipment, relatively simple procedures and you got results that perform. Well done!

 

[AVigil]

Glad that worked out so well.

So, you heated it just with the weed burner? No forge or muffle? I guess if I was going to HT with a torch it would be a weed burner,… puts out that nice big fluffy reducing flame.

I did. Since I do not have my forge yet I took the weed burner and stuck the knife in a charcoal starter I then hit it with the weed burner and kept a close eye on it. I experimented with another piece of 01 before so this was not a dry run.

It brought it up to temp gradually and by adjusting the distance I could keep it at the color I wanted. Checking with a magnet at intervals. I also made sure I did it in low light to monitor the color. Did the Canola and triple temper.

I plan on building a forge with the weed burner and muffle with a pyrometer. But as the little heat treat book says the best way is to watch the color !

 

[Tai Goo]

Cool.

I really like my weed burner. I use it to forge with, heat treat (with a muffle) and have even used it for soldering in a pinch. About the only thing I haven't done with it is burn weeds.

 

[Tai Goo]

Here’s my cute little weed burner rig.
The aromatic cedar splints make for a nice rich fire.

For forging…

AND,… heat treating with the muffle insert…

 

[AVigil]

I am going to put together something similar with a pyrometer in the muffle. I just have to decide if I want to make it out of firebrick or the kaowool and cement.

I saw you make a post about your weed burner setup in another forum and that was enough for me to pull mine out and go for it. :thumbup:

 

[Horsewright]

I've had a buddy after me to extend a tang for him too. But not for fencing staples. He wants it notched for his Corona's.