01 vs W1

Mungo Park · Oct 11, 2005

I went down to the local steel store and they were fresh out of 01 rods/wire. The counter guy said he was no expert but he felt that 01 was oil quenched and W1 was water quenched. Other than that they were the same steel.
Is this true as I am new to knife making and had not heard of W1. Can I use it to forge, oil quench and heat treat in my house oven just as I have been doing with 01.
Cheers Ron.

mete · Oct 11, 2005

Oil vs water is a big difference .W1 also has a very wide carbon range. Can he give you the exact carbon content ? The W stands for water quench so water or perhaps a light oil will have to be used . Please do some research on steel types and learn the different knife steels.

AwP · Oct 11, 2005

W1 is definately not the same as O1, but W1 is used in plenty of excellent knives so it's not bad steel. From what I've heard it'll be pretty similer to 1095.

Raymond Richard · Oct 11, 2005

Here's a link that has what your looking for at real good prices: http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INLMK32?PARTPG=INSRAR2 They have many diffferent diameters. Even though W-1 says water quench you'll be alot happier with the results if you use oil.

jimbowie7 · Oct 12, 2005

In my personal opinion, O1 is a better steel for overall use. As it is very forgiving -it grinds well, is available fully spherodised and annealed, flat grounb, easy to heat treat and produces a sharp, durable knife. I like it.

MCoughlin · Oct 12, 2005

Just out of curiosity what do you guys do to treat the O1 after the knife is finished to keep it from corroding? I wouldn't want to use O1 as a hunter as you can almost watch the stuff rust. I have kept a coating of wd40 on some pieces as an experiment and it seems to work but who wants chemicals getting all over their steaks? I also have some flitz that I haven't tried for the purpose of corrosion protection but I use to clean with. Could this work? :thumbdn: :thumbup:
Mike

mete · Oct 12, 2005

Don't call it corrosion , call it patina !!! Actually to keep it polished is a pain. Just let it oxidize naturally or accelerate it with some vinegar etc.It then gets a grey patina .What you don't want is red rust .To prevent that just clean it and dry it immediately after use.

jhiggins · Oct 12, 2005

mikxx1 said:
Just out of curiosity what do you guys do to treat the O1 after the knife is finished to keep it from corroding? I wouldn't want to use O1 as a hunter as you can almost watch the stuff rust. I have kept a coating of wd40 on some pieces as an experiment and it seems to work but who wants chemicals getting all over their steaks? I also have some flitz that I haven't tried for the purpose of corrosion protection but I use to clean with. Could this work? :thumbdn: :thumbup:
Mike

There's no way to prevent the oxidation, Mike. It just happens naturally over time. Just keep it waxed, and it'll serve you well for a lifetime. A really hard and food-safe wax is carnauba. I have a mixture of it I made a long time ago and it lasts forever. use some carnauba, boiled linseed or flax oil, and a small amount of beeswax. Use like a 90-5-5 of the above and you will come out with a wax that protects very well, wears long, and works easier than just plain carnauba.

AwP · Oct 12, 2005

use some carnauba, boiled linseed or flax oil, and a small amount of beeswax.

I don't know about flax oil, but boiled linseed is not foodsafe.