Difference between Aldo's 1084

I was just wondering that the other day - then I clicked on it and i think it said 1084D is just cut in 6" pieces for stacking when forging Damascus billets.
 
exactly. Aldo has made the process of making 1084/15n20 damascus extremely easy by having matched size pieces of 1084 and 15n20 available

-Page
 
Gotcha. I'm WAY far away from learning to forge weld. It's on the list though. :D I've got enough A2 for two more gentleman's fixed blades and enough O1 for two camp knives, then I think I'm going to try Aldo's 1084 out. Sounds like a great steel. Plus, 4 feet of 2"x1/8" is nearly (maybe less than) the same price as 18" of similarly sized O1.
 
Good question and answers. I do know that Aldo's 1084 makes very nice knives and frankly it's a heckuva bargain. :) I like O1 an awful lot but to be totally honest, you have to squint pretty hard, so to speak, to see the real-world performance differences between O1 and 1084.
 
That's really interesting. I guess I just thought O1 was a better steel than the 108x steels. Maybe because I thought that something so easy to work and HT couldn't be as good as something more complicated. Dang I hate that folly! It seems so dumb written out on here; I'm almost afraid to admit it. Maybe it will help someone else not make the same mistake. To be fair, I had planned for Mike Blue to HT the O1 for bainite formation. That's what he did for my razor.

Just out of curiosity, what are the real world differences that you've noticed between O1 and 1084? I'm planning on several knives with ~3 1/2" blades.
 
O1 has a slight leg up over 1084 in basically every way, if it's HT'ed properly. This is due to the small but important amounts of chromium and tungsten in O1. But for the same reasons, O1 requires more precise temps and soak times to HT to its fullest potential, and is more expensive ,whereas 1084 is more forgiving in regards to HT process/equipment and costs a lot less.

I know didly about which steel is best for bainite formation, or why you would want that. You'll have to ask your HT guy about that. What's wrong with tempered martensite?

You can get O1 a little harder than 1084, but they both perform very well when tempered back to the normal cutlery ranges of 56-60 Rc (I feel 58RC is just about perfect for carbon steel knives, some like them a bit softer, some harder) so that's not really a big deal. O1 is better suited for higher hardness applications like plane irons, chisels, etc... it's basically the original specific "tool steel"... it has a little more carbon to help reach higher hardnesses and again that's why it has the added chrome and tungsten, they form carbides that allow for better wear-resistance.

When used in hunting/utility/camp/kitchen knives, I'm talking about performance differences (how many cuts through cardboard, how many deer skinned, how often do you have to touch up the edge, how much corrosion-resistance, etc) measured in percentage points, or maybe even tenths of percentage points. Both steels can make outstanding knives, big or small. Both can take a fine edge and lovely high polish, both are tough, both will need to be sharpened fairly frequently and kept clean.
 
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Aldo's 1084 FG tends to have carbon content in the upper end of the range for the steel and a pinch of vanadium. It also appears to work quite well at the higher end of the hardness range for that particular steel. One of the big advantgaes of Aldo's stuff is that it tends to be "tool steel clean" which is not something you can say about a lot of the other commonly available 10xx steels out there.
 
What do you mean by "tool steel clean"?

Mike Blue worked with Joe Chandler to develop his particular way of HT O1 for bainite formation. From what he has told me, bainite allows for a hardness of in the normal range (Rc 58 in my particular case) with a very tough edge that resists chipping. He suggested it and I had him do it on my razor I just completed. It should keep the edge from chipping as easily if it touches the sink or faucet. Tempered martensite is perfect for my knives. ;)

I'm interested in learning the ins and outs of HT for 1084 as well. Have to go back over those stickies........Now, to convince my wife I need more steel.......
 
No garbage in the steel. A number of folks have had problems in the past with some "simple" steels from other suppliers.
medicevans said:
What do you mean by "tool steel clean"?

Mike Blue worked with Joe Chandler to develop his particular way of HT O1 for bainite formation. From what he has told me, bainite allows for a hardness of in the normal range (Rc 58 in my particular case) with a very tough edge that resists chipping. He suggested it and I had him do it on my razor I just completed. It should keep the edge from chipping as easily if it touches the sink or faucet. Tempered martensite is perfect for my knives. ;)

I'm interested in learning the ins and outs of HT for 1084 as well. Have to go back over those stickies........Now, to convince my wife I need more steel.......
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why is 1084 so popular? i feel like 52100 is so over looked, it is stronger, better edge retention, and more corrosion resistance. when heat treated right as is the same for all knives.
 
Can you HT it with a coffee can or a handful of firebricks, a propane torch and some canola oil?
 
It also has a reputation for being a tad finicky in the HT. In the past, you also had to be able to forge it out from bearings or races. Even today, a lot of it still comes in round bar form. Easy to find flats of 52100 are a recent phenomenon, but then agsin, so are easy to fine high quality 1084. It kinda looked like it was going the way of the dodo for a little while much like W2 did.
chad2 said:
why is 1084 so popular? i feel like 52100 is so over looked, it is stronger, better edge retention, and more corrosion resistance. when heat treated right as is the same for all knives.
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jdm61 said:
It also has a reputation for being a tad finicky in the HT. In the past, you also had to be able to forge it out from bearings or races. Even today, a lot of it still comes in round bar form. Easy to find flats of 52100 are a recent phenomenon, but then agsin, so are easy to fine high quality 1084. It kinda looked like it was going the way of the dodo for a little while much like W2 did.
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jnbaronsteel sells it :)
 
chad2 said:
why is 1084 so popular? i feel like 52100 is so over looked, it is stronger, better edge retention, and more corrosion resistance. when heat treated right as is the same for all knives.
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I am curious as to how 52100 would be stronger; and, how it would also be more corrosion resistant? Better edge retention, yes; I can see that.

To answer your question, though; 1084 is so popular, because it's probably the easiest steel to PROPERLY heat treat. 52100, not so much. 52100 is much more tricky to properly heat treat.
 
1084 is also a very good steel to use in combination with 15N20 for damascus.
 
Danbo said:
I am curious as to how 52100 would be stronger; and, how it would also be more corrosion resistant? Better edge retention, yes; I can see that.

To answer your question, though; 1084 is so popular, because it's probably the easiest steel to PROPERLY heat treat. 52100, not so much. 52100 is much more tricky to properly heat treat.
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corrosion resistance is from its chromium content. toughness is from good thermal cycling and good edge quenched blade and way more edge retention from carbon content and chromium content which refines the grain ;)
 
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