Brittle O-1

Fort Henry Custom Knives

Fort Henry Custom Knives

Joined
Nov 17, 1999
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3,061
Looking for some experienced advice:

I have an O-1 blade with an approx Rc of 57 - I used a 1 X32 belt sander to convex the edge progressing from 300 to 600 and then 9 micron to leather, dipping in water along the way.

I find that the edge has chipping issues even after resharpening. Is it possible that I got the edge so hot that it skewed the temper? Also, is O-1 HT more sensitive than say D-2 (as I have used this method of sharpening on D2 with no issues)?

I know this calls for some speculation but I am just looking for general "most likelys" in this case based on others experience.
 
Overheating the blade generally doesn't lead to chipping issues. Usually with overheating on a grinder, the blade won't hold a decent edge.
It sounds like there may have been a problem with the initial HT.
 
Read it over and over and you'll get it eventually. The significant part is annealing high carbon steels .The slow cooling will permit carbides to collect in the grain boundaries which will produce a very brittle steel !!
 
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