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recomended rc hardness of 01
- Thread starter jff428
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Much too soft.
Personally I would go with the advice from Fred or very slightly lower ie 58 or 59. Not many knives are below 56.
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It's up to you, but you are "wasting" a lot of the steels potential at such low numbers.
I understand the fear/reality that a cleaver will take more abuse than a smaller blade, but why not something more like 58-9?
I understand the fear/reality that a cleaver will take more abuse than a smaller blade, but why not something more like 58-9?
james terrio
Sharpest Knife in the Light Socket
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I agree with the others.
Way, way too soft. I realize you're probably thinking "go softer" since it's going to be doing fairly heavy chopping, but you'll be sharpening it constantly. You're probably going to use fairly thick stock for a cleaver, and not grind the edge down to .010" like we would for a fine skinner. That means you'll have a lot of tough steel to absorb impact. :thumbup:
Most factory knives in carbon steel (O1 and more often 1095) seem to be tempered way down to 55-56Rc at most for various reasons - mostly because they grind their blades hard, and when you're making thousands of blades a year, that difference in time and wear/tear on your equipment adds up to BIG money. Customers like that, because it keeps costs down, it's really easy to get them sharp, and they're tough.
The same steels at 58-60Rc from a custom maker give up almost nothing in toughness, and hold an edge much better. Custom clients are often surprised at how much longer such knives keep an edge, compared to their factory knives, and are very pleased that they're not really any more difficult to sharpen.
I'd go for 60Rc and test it on whatever you plan on cleaving, before building the handle. If the edge is a little chippy in use, thicken it up a little or sharpen at a steeper angle. If it still chips badly, (which I doubt) you can always pop it back in the oven (25 degrees hotter this time) and temper it back a bit more.
Way, way too soft. I realize you're probably thinking "go softer" since it's going to be doing fairly heavy chopping, but you'll be sharpening it constantly. You're probably going to use fairly thick stock for a cleaver, and not grind the edge down to .010" like we would for a fine skinner. That means you'll have a lot of tough steel to absorb impact. :thumbup:
Most factory knives in carbon steel (O1 and more often 1095) seem to be tempered way down to 55-56Rc at most for various reasons - mostly because they grind their blades hard, and when you're making thousands of blades a year, that difference in time and wear/tear on your equipment adds up to BIG money. Customers like that, because it keeps costs down, it's really easy to get them sharp, and they're tough.
The same steels at 58-60Rc from a custom maker give up almost nothing in toughness, and hold an edge much better. Custom clients are often surprised at how much longer such knives keep an edge, compared to their factory knives, and are very pleased that they're not really any more difficult to sharpen.
I'd go for 60Rc and test it on whatever you plan on cleaving, before building the handle. If the edge is a little chippy in use, thicken it up a little or sharpen at a steeper angle. If it still chips badly, (which I doubt) you can always pop it back in the oven (25 degrees hotter this time) and temper it back a bit more.
Last edited:
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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This troubles me if that is the as quenched hardness. If that is the "out of temper" number, then it is spot on.
O-1 when properly hardened should be around Rc63-64 as quenched. Can you tell us how you hardened the blade, and how it was tested for hardness?
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Well then, you nailed it
Out of curiosity, what were your tempering temps, duration, and number of cycles?
Out of curiosity, what were your tempering temps, duration, and number of cycles?