O-1 thickness before heat treat?

Joined
Oct 17, 1999
Messages
122
How thin can I grind O-1 before I send it out for heat treatment? Does a chisel, flat or hollow grind make a difference? I have 1/8" stock.
 
Hello Upstartcrowe,

I assume you're talking about the primary edge bevel thickness (or more accurately the blade thickness just prior to grinding the edge bevel). I usually take it down to about .020" to .030" before heat-treating. I do my own heat treat for O1 and I know about how thin I can get away with before it warps or cracks but I would think most any heat treater would use the standard cycle.

As for grind types...about 70% of my work is flat ground. I can't really tell much different between hollow and flat as far as heat-treating goes. I do seem to loose more chisel ground knives due to warping. In theory, the asymmetric blade profile on a chisel ground knife can cause one side of the blade to quench at a faster rate than the other…especially if it's not quenched perfectly vertical in the tank.

Hope it helps,

------------------
Cecil Self
SELF Knives
Arrow-Dynamics Cutting Tools
www.arrow-dynamics.com
 
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