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H1 steel

B

Bo T

Joined
Feb 12, 2011
Messages
2,520
At this point in time, there is probably only one new knife that I would buy. And that is one of the Spydercos with H1 steel. If I understand what has been written about the steel, it is a precipitation hardening steel that will also work harden? I've also read that it is an austenistic steel? However, I've read reports that it is magnetic? Anyway, information and suggestions are appreciated.:)
 
Probably one of the best threads about H-1

Questions-About-H1-Steel

Sal on CATRA testing.

Sal Glesser said:
Hi HLite,

Tips are thin and will either break or bend why used for prying. Not a recommended activity for knives. For you to expect a tip to hold up to tough prying is, in my opinion unrealistic. I think if you were going to use one of our H1 knives for light prying, and you didn't want to eait for our fixed blades (still months away) I would suggest the Atlantic Salt. It is a sheepfoot which was designed to be full thickness almost to the tip and had demonstrated that it will handle light prying more effectively.

Other than the testing that we have done at Spyderco (lab testing), there are no other tests, that we know of, other than the tests Crucible did (mentioned below).

Boats,

Thanx for the kind words and support. When we did our testing, the PE model CATRA tested (edge retention) about the same as AUS8, but the serrated version's testing results were much higher. Normally, serrated edges will run about twice the plain edge of same steel and geometry, but the H1 was running about 4 times, up there with powdered metals. A puzzlement.

Hi Mete,

When the foundry rolls the H1, they roll to two different hardness, we end up with 58 for the blade material and considerably lower spec for the lock material. Not meaning to be disrespectful, but the two hardnesses are controlled by the rolling process.

Dick Barber, metallurgist for Crucible steels was curious as to why the H1 steel was testing so well and wanted to do metallurgical testing on the material. We sent them samples and they did their tests. In their micro hardness testing, they found the H1 was differentially hardening. Their explanation was as I described.

The were getting over 60 (64/65 as I remembber the report) at the edge of the blade, 58 at the spine and various hardness in between as they went from the spine to the edge.

The serrted edge version was higher (68 as I remember) which Mr. Barber attributed to the extra "work" (heat) required to serrate the edge over just sharpening as on the plain edge.

If you would like I can fax you, or mail you a copy of the report. Email me your address.

sal
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From:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/464310-H1-Steel-Experts?p=4484958#post4484958
 
Hi. I have the pacific salt in H1. I got that as a edc for the beach, and as such it is fine. Its xutting edge does not hold like the vg10 on my enduras and polixe however. As a normal edc it does not perform as well as I thought it would.
 
Thanks guys! That thread was great. It seems the plain edge underperforms while the serrated edge over performs. I am not a fan of serrations due to extra difficulty in sharpening them, but with the H1 steel the advantage of the serrations might outweigh the sharpening difficulties.

Is the H1 steel in the Spyderco blades magnetic?
 
Mine are magnetic. According to Sal, they do not perform a precipitation hardening step when processing H1. If its precipitation hardened, then it is done before they get the stock from the mill. I have not found my serrated blade to hold high sharpness noticably better in use. I have not done a careful comparison though, and the serrated and plain edge get pretty rough use at times. Oddly, when cutting nylon webbing, I haven't seen an advantage in using the serrated blade. I went back to using a plain edge. H1 is a strange bird, and evidently only the mill knows exactly whats going on.
 
I am confused as I thought austenistic stainless steels were, essentially, non magnetic.
 
My serrated H1 blades seem to hold up better than my serrated VG10 blades. If going the H1 route, I'd recommend a serrated edge. Sharpening is a non issue for me as the Sharpmaker makes that a breeze.
 
The main and starting ingredient to making all steel is iron and iron is magnetic, so steel will be attracted to magnets. It also means it can become magnetized and have its own magnetic field. You can get rid of this by demagnetization. There was a thread not to long ago about that in the general forum.
 
I am leaning towards a plain edge in H1 steel and just sharpening it on an 80 grit belt (impromptu serrations).
 
I've been sharpening mine woth just a Norton Economy stone, which is fairly coarse. See what the 80 does for you. The fine or coarse side of the Economy stone both give an arm shaving edge. My only complaint is the edge of my Salt One seems to dent sometimes, like the full depth of the edge bevel. Nothing to worry about, as its easy to fix, but the couple times its happened, I couldnt think of anythingthat did it.
 
Give serrations a try. I now love them and they are not hard to sharpen. Use a round, tapered sharpener, made just for serrated blades.
rolf
 
Yes, give the H1 serrated edge a try. I'm not a big fan of serrated edges but it works extremely well with the H1. I was night fishing and caught several Speckled Trout and a Redfsh on the Texas coast a few years ago and all I had with me to clean my catch was a Spyderco Tasman (Hawkbill) SE that I mainly use for cutting line & rope because it performs those tasks so well. To make a long story short that serrated Tasman became my designated fish gutter in addition to line & rope cutter.
 
Brisket said:
Yes, give the H1 serrated edge a try. I'm not a big fan of serrated edges but it works extremely well with the H1. I was night fishing and caught several Speckled Trout and a Redfsh on the Texas coast a few years ago and all I had with me to clean my catch was a Spyderco Tasman (Hawkbill) SE that I mainly use for cutting line & rope because it performs those tasks so well. To make a long story short that serrated Tasman became my designated fish gutter in addition to line & rope cutter.
Click to expand...

Yes! I ALWAYS have the tasman at the cleaning table. Remarkably useful for gutting and gill removal for the ones we cook whole. And as far as h1 in general...yes, get serrated. I was not a fan until I got the pacific salt in se but now it is my favorite and most used knife. Sharpening is very quick ad easy on the sharpmaker and I'm able to keep mine hairsplitting sharp with very little effort.
 
Thanks for all the information. I will start looking to pick one up this year.
 
I've found my serrated Tasman has gotten better edge retention since I purchased it. It seems the more I use it and the harder I sharpen it, the better it performs. I can't give you a percentage or scientific reasoning, but it is enough for me to notice and feel it's a pretty major improvement. I suppose that correlates to the work-hardening?

Some of the marine uses that a marine-use knife sees I suppose is also the reason I am often sharpening it more aggressively than most other folders, and that I really don't hesitate to use the knife hard.

While all the different steel options means I'm not dead-set on carrying a knife in any specific steel for general EDC, I am positive I would not carry a knife in another steel for marine usage given how harsh saltwater is on even stainless steels with reasonably good corrosion resistance!!! Awesome steel and a must have for marine usage!!!
 
Hey Gringo,

The most desired knives for gutting among professional fisherman in the pacific northwest was the serrated K05 with the red handle. Cut like a witch, stayed sharp a long time. Easy to find. When they started to dull, they'd throw them away and get a new one. They used them by the hundreds. They really felt bad when we stopped making them about 10 years ago.

Just got back from the meeting the maker and we'll be remaking them. Hope to have them by October this year.

sal
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hey Gringo,

The most desired knives for gutting among professional fisherman in the pacific northwest was the serrated K05 with the red handle. Cut like a witch, stayed sharp a long time. Easy to find. When they started to dull, they'd throw them away and get a new one. They used them by the hundreds. They really felt bad when we stopped making them about 10 years ago.

Just got back from the meeting the maker and we'll be remaking them. Hope to have them by October this year.

sal
Click to expand...

Right on Sal! Is it ok if I sharpen mine instead of throwing them away? :D
 
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