H1 Blanks

If I remember correctly, H-1 is a high chromium, high alloy content ( lits of nickel) , corrosion resistant steel.....with very little carbon. The Carbon content is somewhere around .1 to .3. It is a hot work steel for jobs that require high rust resistance. As a knife blade there are much better stainless steels. It is used industrially, but as a commercial knife steel it is a gimmick, in my opinion. H-1 knives are basicly case hardened blades. Without some serious industrial equipment you won't be able to harden this steel.

OK, I found this analysis and explanation.

Myodo Foundry H-1 Stainless Steel
Manufacturer: Myodo Foundry

H-1 is a precipitation hardened steel, using Nitrogen to harden the steel instead of Carbon. This allows the steel to reach a hardness of RC 57-58, which is quite remarkable given the steel has very little carbon in it. Spyderco's H1 reported hits hardnesses of RC 65 on the edge according to Cliff Stamp.

With the introduction of H-1 knives, Cobalt Chromium alloy knives have mostly disappeared from the market. H-1 offers all the corrosion resistance of Cobalt Alloys without the added expense of material and production. H-1 is quite a revolutionary steel.

H-1 was introduced into the market by Benchmade in 2003, and quickly followed by Spyderco. Spyderco uses H1 extensively in it's SALT line of knives, which are designed for use in salt water. Though the steel is an excellent performer for such a corrosion resistant knife, it still does not compare with S30V or VG-10 when it comes to wear resistance but will perform just as well as lower end stainless steels such as 440A.

Composition
C Co Cr Mn Mo Ni P Si S W N
0.15 - 14-16 2 0.5-1.5 6-8 0.04 3-4.5 0.03 - 0.1


I doubt you will find anyone making a pre-cut blank in it.
 
Yeah -- I think Sal said that it has to be custom rolled for them because it normally does not come in sizes useful for knife making. The stuff is also wonky in that it's an austinetic stainless -- it work hardens; you do not heat treat it to harden it. I think that makes it too much of a PITA for the kit-knife community to work with.

Something you may want to consider -- just re-grinding a spyderco H1 knife. Truth be told, I don't think there would be a cheaper way to get a small quantity of knife thickness H1 steel. One of the 3mm thick fixed blades that they have -- I think they are the 'Salt' knives -- might be the ticket. I know Tom Krein has done a lot of work for people customizing Spyderco H1 knives and he seems to be extremely proficient at working with the material -- bizarre work-hardening properties notwithstanding...
 
Thanks, you guys, I appreciate the information. I suspect you're right, hk, and that re-grinding a Spyderco is the best option I'm going to find. Oh well...

Just my two cents, but I own several H1 knives, and they perform well. Sure, not up to S30V standards, but decent, and perfect for wet or marine environments.

My hope was to get a blank and see how edge hardness/retention works out with a convex edge. Spyderco's H1 knives are all hollow ground, to keep manufacturing costs down, since the work hardening properties increase machine wear when employing other grinding methods. My theory is that putting a convex edge on H1 will differentially harden the blade. The high RC that Spyderco quotes is on their serrated (hollow ground) blades, the machining of the serrations takes RC from 58-60 up to around 65, per Spyderco's statements.

Anyway, thanks again for all your input, cool to have a resource like this where so many knowledgeable people hang out.
 
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