o-1 temper/heat treat

warrior24

warrior24

Joined
May 3, 2006
Messages
673
Hello fellow knife nuts. I am now ready to temper and heat treat my first knife. It is made out of o-1. As I understand the whole processes is, I heat the blade up to non-magnet temp then quench it in olive oil (but how long of a soak?) (just the blade part or the whole knife?) Then I put it in my toaster oven (what temperature?) (how much time?). Did I miss any steps to this process. So as you can see I am a newb and would greatly appreciate any help to my questions.
 
If its a simple hunter/skinner knife, here's what I do:

Safety:
First, move all combustible materials out of the area.

Next, make sure you have a fully charged fire extinguisher onsite before starting.

Third, make sure your oil is in a fireproof container (read metal) and you have a fireproof lid that fits tightly.

HEAT TREATING 0-1 TOOL STEEL

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg f.

2. Mount torch in vise. Attach #7 or #8 tip.

3. Tape magnet to torch so it rides close to tip, but in the cold zone.

4. Fill adequate size bucket with old motor oil.

5. Preheat oil to 140 deg f. by dropping in a red hot bolt, or something with
enough mass to heat your oil.

6. Slowly heat the edge portion of your blade until cherry red, and non-magnetic.

7. Quench the edge in oil. Do not swirl until boiling stops. Leave blade in the oil for a few minutes.

8. Remove when just cool enough to touch.

9. Test edge with a file. It should slide right off and not cut. If it doesn’t, repeat the process.

10. Wipe off all oil, and immediately (while still warm), put in kitchen oven for one hour.

11. After 1 hr. remove blade (leave oven on), and allow it to cool to room temp. (takes about 20 minutes).

12. Put knife back in the oven for another hour.

13. Repeat for a total of 3 cycles in the oven.

14. Your blade’s edge is now hardened and tempered to about Rockwell C 60-61. The rest of the knife should be flexible enough to give a little without snapping in half.
 
the blade is 3" and the handle part is 4 1/2" , as far as use goes I don't really know what I will use it for. I guess a small camp knife.
 
Tanguay Custom Knives said:
If its a simple hunter/skinner knife, here's what I do.

HEAT TREATING 0-1 TOOL STEEL

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg f.

2. Mount torch in vise. Attach #7 or #8 tip.

3. Tape magnet to torch so it rides close to tip, but in the cold zone.

4. Fill adequate size bucket with old motor oil.

5. Preheat oil to 140 deg f. by dropping in a red hot bolt, or something with
enough mass to heat your oil.

6. Slowly heat the edge portion of your blade until cherry red, and non-magnetic.

7. Quench the edge in oil. Do not swirl until boiling stops. Leave blade in the oil for a few minutes.

8. Remove when just cool enough to touch.

9. Test edge with a file. It should slide right off and not cut. If it doesn’t, repeat the process.

10. Wipe off all oil, and immediately (while still warm), put in kitchen oven for one hour.

11. After 1 hr. remove blade (leave oven on), and allow it to cool to room temp. (takes about 20 minutes).

12. Put knife back in the oven for another hour.

13. Repeat for a total of 3 cycles in the oven.

14. Your blade’s edge is now hardened and tempered to about Rockwell C 60-61. The rest of the knife should be flexible enough to give a little without snapping in half.
Click to expand...

Great instructions Outstanding Post from a great person A+------------------:thumbup:
 
I have one more question they way you are describing it is if I use a torch to only heat the edge of the blade. I have a IG style forge, how much of a difference will it make I heat the whole blade
 
I really appreciate these great instructions you have taken the time to give me and any one els who is new to this like me.
 
warrior24 said:
I have one more question they way you are describing it is if I use a torch to only heat the edge of the blade. I have a IG style forge, how much of a difference will it make I heat the whole blade
Click to expand...

Read line 14. Your blade’s edge is now hardened and tempered to about Rockwell C 60-61. The rest of the knife should be flexible enough to give a little without snapping in half.
That All you need to do. -------------:thumbup:
 
Sorry, didn't mean to leave you hanging, I had to step away from the computer for a little bit. I'm working (running a power plant) and doing this at the same time.

To answer your question about using the forge- I should've asked, I just got it in my head you were using a torch. Its the same process. Heat to non magnetic and quench. You may want to just do an edge quench. I use a gas forge for my heat treating and that's what I do.

I stated motor oil for the quench, but olive oil, auto trans. fluid, etc. will work. Just test your edge when your done (prior to tempering) to make sure it got hard.

If you were doing a big chopper or a knife that might see some prying, I'd recommend tempering to 500 deg f or maybe even 600 deg f.

Barkes, back at ya bro.

Scott

edited to add: If you've never done this before, here's a few very important safety tips:

First, move all combustible materials out of the area.

Next, make sure you have a fully charged fire extinguisher onsite before starting.

Third, make sure your oil is in a fireproof container (read metal) and you have a fireproof lid that fits tightly.

Chances are pretty good the oil is gonna catch on fire when you quench. If you do just an edge quench with a blade that is fully red hot, I can guarantee its gonna light. Don't panic, hold the blade in place for a few seconds and allow the edge to quench. After a few seconds, drop it into the oil and put the lid on the container. This will extinguish the flames.

Have fun!
Scott
 
On the magnet part I attach a magnetic scribe to the blade a bit back from the edge (1/4") , if a large knife I use more than one scribe, I apply the tip of my flame to this area a bit back from the edge and it reaches non magnetic the magnets will slide towards the spine. I them move the blade a bit back from the flame and keep the color constant on that for a bit before I quelch it. My quelch tank holds about 1/2 a gallon of oil and on the bottom I have a 1/4" plate of aluminium that has been drilled to be almost all holes and has a 3/8 bolt threaded into a tapped hole in each corner. I use the bolts to set the depth of the plate in the oil so that it controls the depth of my inital edge quelch. Good luck and enjoy. Jim
 
ib2v4u said:
On the magnet part I attach a magnetic scribe to the blade a bit back from the edge (1/4") , if a large knife I use more than one scribe, I apply the tip of my flame to this area a bit back from the edge and it reaches non magnetic the magnets will slide towards the spine.
QUOTE]

As a magnet heats it will begin to lose its magnetism...If I have understood your post correctly, .... placing magnets on the blade the way you describe may not necesarily indicate the temperatu......re your wanting.

If using a magnet then it should be kept seperate from the blade and only used to momentarily touch the blade to find out if the blade has reached critical/non magnetic.....Its accuracy depends on catching the point of loss of magnetism as the temperature is being raised.
Click to expand...
 
The loss of magnitism most often is not the temperature to quench at. You most often need 50o, to 75o more heat. Especially in the case of 01.
 
Scott's directions are clear and to the point. I see that he does not mention a soak time. Is there one for O-1?

Also, is there a web reference source similar to this for other steels. I would like to heat treat using my propane forge I am having trouble finding data for other steels, like 1065, in a concise form like Scott put together here. Would the procedure for all 10XX steels be the same? I have heard that 1095 has some peculiarities.
 
Black Dog,
As far as a soak time-not really. Just make sure your blade is heated thoroughly. I do this by watching the color. My forge is in the darkest part of my shop intentionally. It helps me see the colors more clearly. Cooler=darker. If you see dark, almost black spots in the cherry red blade, move that area under the heat. Quench when the color is consistent, and the blade is non-magnetic.

This is the same method I use for all high carbon 10XX HC steels. I haven't noticed any peculiarities with a specific steel.

Hope this helps,
Scott
 
Yes, there is a soak time on 01, if you are wanting the best heat treat. Mine soak a minimum of ten minutes, at 1500o, most often more, and if I run four blades at a time, it would be closer to twenty for the last out of the oven. The xx series only need a few minutes.
 
Well I cant wait to start but its raining :( Its not supposed to rain in Arizona. Ohh well I guess it will give me more time to get these steps and tips ingrained in my head. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to answer my questions and give suggestions.
 
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