Most popular steels

M

Merdox

Joined
Oct 5, 2007
Messages
6
What type of steel is most functional or popular among knife makers? For a beginner it seems as though 0-1 would be the most forgiving. But I would be curious to hear what the rest of you use.
 
1075 or 1080 is the simplest, cheapest, and easiest to work and harden. Mace and Aldo sell it in the For Sale sub-forum. It is the steel I teach with.
Stacy
 
cant go wrong with some cpm 10v. just joking, i love O-1 easy to heat treat and does not warp hardley.
 
I like 1084 for forging (O-1 is a b***h to hammer) but for stock removal I love my O-1.
 
I love the 1084 i've got from mace and aldo for forging, i've got a lot of O1 drill rod because it's cheap and available at the store near me, but that stuff fights your hammer like nothing else. Thank goodness i'm getting a treadle hammer this weekend, so ic an reduce down some of this 3/4" round barstock i've got.
 
I just got 200 lbs of 1084 from Aldoand Mace, but I haven't tried it yet. 1075 is super easy to move under the hammer and to me, W2 isn't is hard to move as O1.
 
I like 1095, and O-1 is my favorite for carbon steels. I have just started using 440C stainless. J.D.
 
All good advice above if you are doing your own heat treating. If you don't mind sending out for heat treat, you open up a whole new wonderful world of superior steels - some high alloy - some stainless.

I have to be careful not to say too much more, because the guys who use rusty steel are kind of sensitive.

smilingdevil.gif


Rob!
 
RUSTY!
My mind is rusty, my hands are rusty, and shaky, but my steel whether no Cr, low Cr, or high Cr is not rusty cus I take care of it!
 
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