making o1 corrosion resistant?

D

Dakota 11

Joined
Apr 14, 2006
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ok i have made some knifes out of o1 and all have took the heat treat real well and sharpen up and stay sharp real good. they only real problem i have is that if u look at them wrong the start to rust? i have read that some cold blue to make more resistant. can any1 recommend a way to do this or provide pictures of what a knife done like this looks like. thanks
 
I'm sure the O-1 users will chime in soon,but while O-1 is a good steel,it will rust while you watch.Bluing,parkerizing,blade coating,etc. will delay this,but only low humidity and keeping the blade well oiled will really help.In a using knife the coatings will rub off. My rules on any carbon steel blade are
USE it, CLEAN it,OIL it, PUT it AWAY in a dry place.
 
Dakota 11 said:
ok i have made some knifes out of o1 and all have took the heat treat real well and sharpen up and stay sharp real good. they only real problem i have is that if u look at them wrong the start to rust? i have read that some cold blue to make more resistant. can any1 recommend a way to do this or provide pictures of what a knife done like this looks like. thanks
Click to expand...

Make a sandwich out of it with something like 440-C or 420HC (San Mai). Then call it ZDP-199!
 
hey i use some edible silicone grease from restaurant supply or scuba dive shops. works well to keep the rust from forming, and stay on there pretty long.
 
One thing that will help 01 avoid rust is a light etch. I use vinegar and some guys use ferric chloride. Use acetone, or something similar, and carefully degrease the steel. Heat the vinegar to just boiling and put the blade in. Let it work about 5-10min. and take it out. Use Windex, baking soda, etc. to neutralize the vinegar. I use 0000 steel wool with soap and scrub the black off to see the etch. Last thing is 0000 steel wool again with light oil. Wipe it down and you're there. More or less time in the vinegar will vary the darkness. Even with this, I totally agree with "use-clean-oil".
Rick
 
Blueing is a form of rust in itself. I don't know where the idea started that blueing something retards corrosion, etc. :confused: I think possibly because firearms used to have mirror polished finishes before blueing and that finish by itself will retard corrosion with care.

The best way to stop rust on 01 is to pack it with grease and put it back in it's jacket in a controlled envoronment enclosure and make the knife from 440C or some such.;)

They even have people hard chroming 01, but they forget the main reason for a knife is to cut and as soon as one of those things is sharpened the edge starts to corrode as it no longer has the HC protection.

It makes a good knife, like most tool steels, but like them, it needs looking after. Even stainless will rust if not taken care of.
 
Blueing is Magnetite Fe3O4, which is one of two forms of rust.
Red rust is Hematite Fe2O3.
Blueing cannot rust, as it is rust; however, it's only about .0001" thick, it does not 100% seal off the parent steel, and must be oiled.
Parkerizing (Zinc, Iron, or Manganese Phosphating) is a bit more durable, but it also requres oiling...
No matter what you do, oil or grease is your friend, as it keeps Oxygen from reaching the Iron...
 
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