O-1 Steel

G

Gabaski

Joined
Jul 22, 2010
Messages
107
After reading around the Internet . seem like There is a Wide range of Preference as to What a good .

eg.

SOme said 60-61 RC is good . while some prefer it to be 56rc- 58 RC.
While it all depend on the Knife use itself .

here i am hunting for info .


i am trying to make Small knife with Blade around 2.5 inches - 3.4 inches .

for Hunter and camp use .

i am testing and trying to find info on how i can get the Steel in a forge which i made to reach 800C for the HT .

i got a Gas oven which is huge something like 2 meter by 1.5 meter . but have little problem getting it to reach as high as 800F and Hold for hours .

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What would the Best Hardness for O-1 Steel for jungle and outdoor use .

What would be the Best way to tell if your Home made forge reaches 800C without going High tech .

-

i was thinking since Salt Melt at 800C maybe i would build a small device that i can put in some salt and when the forge reaches 800C i can tell and control the fire to keep it there .

i am also very confuse with the Time needed . as to how long i need to keep the steel at betwwen 790 - 815C . before i drip it in Oil .

or i can do it once i reach 800C -

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thickness over Time .

is it 1 hour per Inches in the tempering process. meaning if my knife is 1/4 inches i would need more or less 25min or so . to be safe .

Why O-1 Steel . well is easier to access here and after that is D2 which i think the higher 1000C + become a problem for me without good high tech tools .


any process that help you verify the temperature . beside the Color check .

by asking so i am trying to find a stable way and working process so i can produce the same result .


after all the goal is to produce the best knife i can with what i have .
 
Tempering is more complex than just thickness. Temper blades at least 1 hour preferably 2 hours..
O-1 is a tool steel and to get the best properties hardening temperature is critical .Color is not precise enough , you need a proper thermocouple.
 
That i agree , but is very hard to get Hold of Such stuff in Thailand and the Price there asking for simple stuff can be crazy ..

just one example when i ask about a thermocouple i was told it will cost $600 usd - i think is crazy price just to get a thermocouple without the oven . but then again is for them to sell and my to choose to buy anot .


at the moment . i just got to do with what i got.

- trying to see what kinda option i got .

if needed i would build my own Kilns . the price i got for a small over is quote as $2000 usd . can imagine why there is a very small knife maker market here .

sometime i envy you guys from state with all the Tools and tech stuff at really good fair price .

for now . the hunt go on .

sharpen your knowledge .
Gabaski

any good advice on how to Bets control your Temperature without the digital high tech stuff .
 
If you stick to the simple steels you can use simple HT methods . Try to get 1070, 1080, or 1084. These steels make very acceptable blades and are easy to HT.
 
Ebay is full of digital and analog pyrometers, both new and used from $10 and up. You may have to check for a willing seller, because unfortunately, Thailand has a reputation for C/C fraud.

When you get your O1 up to temperature, try for a 20 - 30 minute soak before oil quench.

For all your blades, temper at least two hours - cool to room temp and temper for another two hours. Some do a third temper as well, but there are probably diminishing returns.

O1 is a good choice because it is quite forgiving. Most makers ask us for 60/61 if concensus is any help to you. Neither of the ranges you suggested would be bad - just different. :-)

Good for you for "doing what you can with what you have". :thumbup:

Rob!
 
Knifemaker.Ca Thanks for the Great Advice ..

Yeh is really hard to get hold of what i need as a knife maker here .

so i am going against ll odd here to do what i love and enjoy . and also trying at the same time not reducing the standard of what i am going to make .

i will start with O-1 Steel and then if possible D2 . if i can figure out how to control the heat .

more or less i will go 60-61 for O-1 Steel , but before i do that i need to find out how i can control the result . i want to be able to reproduce the result over and over again
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for now what i can do is try to get as much info as i can .

-when you said 2 Hour . do you mean 2 hour per Inches thickness or 2 Hour for the 1/4 inches i am making .

i got a Large Gas oven which is easy to control it at 300-500F easily .

i am thinking 430F for tempering
 
Gabaski said:
-when you said 2 Hour . do you mean 2 hour per Inches thickness or 2 Hour for the 1/4 inches i am making .
...........
i am thinking 430F for tempering
Click to expand...

I use 2 hour cycles for all blade tempering nomatter how thick or thin.

430 should work just fine for the tempers.

Rob!
 
Thanks you for the great info .

Anyone else with Successful process to handle O-1 Steel ?

I read up some where in this forum that Tempering 5 hour or 25 min Maybe see little different . as long as your temperature is control correctly . but do correct me if i am wrong .

i am thinking more like a 45 min - 3 cycle tempering , but i might be wrong .

i will try to research More .
 
a good old fashioned magnet will tell you when you hit critical, a smidge above that and hold for 10 mins and you wont be far away for O1.

You can watch the temper colours and be pretty acurate from them for tempering. Brass rod test on your first couple of knives will give you a good benchmark.

Ive tempered O1 blades on the back of piece of hot steel untill the colours run, and had very, very tough blades. total tempering time? about 20 seconds.

My advice is to make a couple, give em a good real world testing and see what you need to improve from there.
 
Great advice John N , nothing Beat the Good Old Senses test doing it and seeing it and from experience .
 
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