Must get a knife with O1 steel! Suggestions please.

H

HighTen

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Aug 28, 2004
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I have read a lot about O1 steel and it seems to be the cat's meow.

I have noticed that some of the guys that compete in the BLADE Show World Cutting Championships use it for their knives but it is also used in small blades sometimes. Also, I read that Bill Moran use this steel for some of his knives, which says a lot to me. I have read edge holding is also quite good.

So, I want some real bad.

Can you suggest a folder or fixed blade (either with a 5" blade or less) that features this steel? I would prefer a production knife only because it would be less expensive than a custom but I'm not sure there are any production O1knives, so I would be willing to pay the price for a custom.

Thanks a bunch.:)
 
Not sure but I think the only production company that uses O1 is Randall Made. I'm sure someone will chime in if there's another.
Scott
 
I've never heard of anyone besides Randall using O1. On the custom side, a lot of new makers use O1 so you could find a reasonably priced custom knife.
 
Kind of funny how wrong your first assumption was, lol. :D I didn't know either, but it's funny that the only production knives you can find in O1 cost twice as much as a small custom knife in O1... :eek:
 
Uh, Desert Knife Works Sandshark? Not really your typical knife though. I can't seem to find the old video of them repeatedly jamming the knife into a 55 gallon drom without hurting the knife.
 
Thanks for the responses!

It's true I never thought a production knife would be the more expensive one!

Anyway, are there any more suggestions for makers/knives that use this steel?
 
Brian Goode here in NC uses it. I've used it (once). I'm sure a custom maker would use it if you asked. If I'm not mistaken, Razorback uses it, or did for a while.
 
Hey, I was thinking about grabbing it, but I should probably get a folding knife, so I'll tell you... check out in the For Sale by Individuals- Customs forum, because Veritas is selling a Wally Hayes Hornet neck knife- in O1, it's a 3" chisel ground tanto with a Japanese cord wrap grip and kydex neck sheath. I was pretty tempted myself, you should grab it before it disappears. It's a steal right now at $130, lol, it retails from Wally for $175, and I think if you want a piece of O1, you can't beat one by an ABS Master Smith... :D
 
Sean O’Hare offers O1 on some of his knives. He is a very talented maker, and makes well designed working knives with excellent fit and finish.
 
me2 said:
Brian Goode here in NC uses it. I've used it (once). I'm sure a custom maker would use it if you asked. If I'm not mistaken, Razorback uses it, or did for a while.
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Brian goode uses it exclusively. I use it along with D2, A2 and S7. Love those tool steels.:D There are several other makers using it also.
Scott
 
Maker Ryan Whittemore ("Whit" here on BF) uses O1. I have one of his S6 models with that steel. It's a cool knife at a nice price. Check him out.
 
0-1 is a really good steel for a working knife. It sharpend easily and thast what I like about it. There are alot of guys who would use it more if it had a fancy techinal name...but thats just my opinion :) :p
 
Darrell at mtsequoiahknives.com makes small fixed blades of O-1 for less than $100.00. Quality is very good.
 
Ray Mears markets an outdoors knife, "Woodlore" I think it is called, made out of this steel O1. Cost is £225. Huge price I think.
 
A great many German makers work with 1.2842, which is the German DIN (~AISI) designation of O-2, which is very similar to O-1.
 
I use a great deal of O1 in my working knives. Frankly, if I had to choose just one steel to make knives from, it would be O1. Gives fantastic cutting performance.

There are not many factory knives in carbon steel, period. Many factory blades in carbon are A2 as it is an air-hardened steel and lends itself a bit better to some production techniques, IMHO. (O1 is an oil-hardened steel.)
 
You might want to take a look at Bark River knives which are also made of tool steel (A2). The Bark River boys make some of the best reasonable priced hunting and user knives with wicked sharp edges and unusual but very nice convex ground blades. I think it is so cold up where they make these in northern Michigan that they spend extra time on the knife grinder just to stay warm! But if you are looking for a great tool steel knife these are tops (Chris Reeves uses A2 steel in his big Rambo combat knives)

http://www.barkriverknives.com/
 
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