Best Steel for WSK in Rainy NW?

F

Fishback

Joined
Feb 9, 2005
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34
I sell software. Not always fun. I did however just sell some softare to a mill that has all kinds of scrap metal that I could have. If I'm interested in having someone make me a WSK, what would be the ideal metal for the rainy Northwest? I am not at all afraid to admit that I don't know the difference between D2, O1, etc., and their pro's and cons. Just looking to be educated. - Thanks!
 
I will admit I don't know very much about metals either and would like to add to the original question. What are the benefits (and/or what is better):

1. to mold the blade form from molten metal
2. or mill it from a solid bar of metal

Furthermore, if coating the blade (say teflon, etc...), it seems this would affect tempering etc...?

LSkylizard
 
To be honest the cost of the steel is going to be only a small % of the price of the blade. Its the makers time and skills you are paying for.
 
Fishback,

There are a bunch of us knife nuts and knifemakers in the Puget Sound area.

Give me a call and we will shoot the breeze for a while.
 
martin j said:
All 3 are fairly similar, they are plain carbon "non- stainless" steels, 1095 and 01 both are used widely in fix blade knives for ability to take very good edge and wear resistance, also very good toughness. Only drawback is they are not stainless, it depends on you how much this matters. 1075 is similar to 1095 except is has less carbon content (roughly 0.95 vs. 0.75%), this reduces edge holding ability but results in increase in toughness, …1075…would be excellent choice for machete style big knife, a big chopping knife (9 inches or longer) or axes, etc.
I think 1095 or 01 with differential heat treatment (hard edge 59-60 RC, soft spine) would make excellent fix blade knife for all around heavy duty usage…very easy to heat treat and to give differential heat treatment to, relative to other steels, they can also be forged or made from stock removal…
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elvenbladesmith07 said:
for survival purposes a good 1095 blade is probably best, 0-1 tends to chip, and 1075 is a bit weak in the edge holding area. I’m talking about most production knives in general. Custom makers get better HT for their knives.
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Lazarus Long said:
Differentially treated O-1…is tough, cheap, and easy to sharpen.
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knifetester said:
…The steels are similar in that they are both carbon steel, with 1075 being a simple carbon steel and 01 being a tool steel (originally intended for use in gauges), however there are some differences, which can become very important based on heat treat.

If both are heat treated fairly soft (uniform 56RC for example) you will not see much of a difference in actual use between the two steels…

…O1 can be heat treated to a much higher hardness before becoming brittle. To attain high hardness levels (for more strength, higher levels of edge retention) in 1075, it is barely tempered back and can become brittle.

Of course, few makers heat treat 1075 this way, since that is not what it is spec'd for. Rather 1075 is tempered back more, for a tougher steel which is less prone to chipping, is easier to sharpen, etc. I think 1084 is a better compromise personally, but I am not a knife maker…

…O1 is more alloyed than 1075, and offers higher strength and wear resistance.

For a large camp knife…I would go with O1…

…In summary, with a hard use heat treat (not super hard like a light use knife) you will probably not see any difference. Any good carbon steel with a decent heat treat is a much better choice, in my opinion, than the more brittle stainless steels for a hard use camp knife…
…At lower hardness levels (~55) 1075 will be tougher than 01, but the difference is slight, to the point of being an academic point rather than of practical significance…

…the picture changes at high hardness (over ~60RC). If you want 1075 run that hard, you are basically running it as quenched. As such it is quite brittle. In contrast, 01 as quenched runs like ~66-68, so if you want a ~60 blade you are tempering it back a bit, increasing toughness…
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STR said:
0-1 is perhaps the most forgiving of any knife quality steel other than the very simple alloy types, and produces a blade of excellent quality for most normal use. It can be heat treated very easily. Further references? …

…Awhile back, one of the best of the blade smiths said that well treated 0-1 would out cut any Damascus....

…Edge holding is exceptional. 0-1 is precision ground unless you're lucky enough to stumble across some mill bar. Goof up the heat treat and 0-1 will let you try again as often as you like, as long as you don't overheat the metal…

…steels from 1045 through 1095 are the ultimate in simplicity and very shallow hardening so they may be used to make a selectively hardened edge as one sees on old Japanese swords. Toughness is outstanding, with these alloys being used for grader blade edges, truck springs and files…

…Edges are acceptable with 1045, good with 1060, nice with 1084, and excellent with 1095, W-1 or W-2. Those last two are often referred to as O-F, old file. It is very easy to get the higher carbon end of this series way too hard to make a good knife.

I copied these above descriptions down from a book I have: "Blades and Stuff"…

…I'd go with O1 personally and 1095 over 1075. In fact if the choice had 1095 I'd go with that one over 01.
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These quotes from previous metal thread/s may (or may NOT) help you.
I would like to add to the original question. What are the benefits (and/or what is better):

1. to mold the blade from molten metal into some form/mold
2. or mill it from a solid bar of metal

Furthermore, if coating the blade (say teflon, etc...), it seems this would affect tempering etc...?
 
As regards methods of creation, from what i've read, the prefered methods are either forging, in a furnace etc, or milling the knife shape out of metal, stock removal, there are a bunch of threads about this, the upshot being that nobody can agree, and you may as well take it as read that for all intents and purposes there probably isn't a superior method, what with the quality of the metals and the heat treat methods now available. If i'm wrong, please feel free to call me an idiot and tell me to zip it.
 
No, you're absolutely correct. Everyone has an opinion on their version of de facto standard.
 
My WSK is made from O1, it's is suppost to rust pretty easily, but so far no rust at all. O1 does tarish easy, but that is why I blued the blade.
 
Myakka said:
My WSK is made from O1...
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Myakka:

Talk to me about a few things. First, can you get the blade coated without ruining your heat treat/differential temper? second, difference and benefit or downside to chisel vs V grind?

Thanks,
Skylizard
 
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