Source for thin 1080/1084 bar stock or alternative that would work for back yard heat treat?

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dukesilver

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Apr 19, 2015
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I'm a long time lurker and this is my first post. First off, I've learned a lot on this forum and I wanted to thank everyone for sharing their knowledge.

I have made a couple of hunting knives via stock removal with Aldo's 1084 1/8" thick and had pretty good results. Heat treat was in a 2 brick forge heated to non-magnetic and quenched in 120 degree canola oil.

For my next project, I wanted to make some kitchen knives mainly a 8-9" chefs knife and a paring knife. 1/8" stock seems too thick to me for a chef's knife and paring knives. I was thinking 3/32" or thinner if possible. Does anyone know of a source for 1080/1084 in 3/32"?

Alternatively, if I can't find 1080 in the appropriate thickness, I was considering using 1095 or O1 which I know are trickier to heat treat. Would either of these work well for my backyard heat treat method? I would like to stick to heating until non-magnetic and quenching canola oil. I know Parks 50 is optimum for 1095 but I'd rather stick with canola to keep costs down. Also don't want to water quench and risk breaking the blade.
 
dukesilver said:
I'm a long time lurker and this is my first post. First off, I've learned a lot on this forum and I wanted to thank everyone for sharing their knowledge.

I have made a couple of hunting knives via stock removal with Aldo's 1084 1/8" thick and had pretty good results. Heat treat was in a 2 brick forge heated to non-magnetic and quenched in 120 degree canola oil.

For my next project, I wanted to make some kitchen knives mainly a 8-9" chefs knife and a paring knife. 1/8" stock seems too thick to me for a chef's knife and paring knives. I was thinking 3/32" or thinner if possible. Does anyone know of a source for 1080/1084 in 3/32"?

Alternatively, if I can't find 1080 in the appropriate thickness, I was considering using 1095 or O1 which I know are trickier to heat treat. Would either of these work well for my backyard heat treat method? I would like to stick to heating until non-magnetic and quenching canola oil. I know Parks 50 is optimum for 1095 but I'd rather stick with canola to keep costs down. Also don't want to water quench and risk breaking the blade.
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Try Aldos 15n20. It is my favorite for a simple heat treatment. I find its even easier than his 1084. For kitchen knives that nickel makes a huge difference about how fast it rust. With just my little Atlas forge I have done several kitchen use blades. When I had them Rc tested they came out 61/62 for a 350 temper and 62/63 for a 300 degree temper. It has fantastic edge stability. All of my testers have been loved. Its only downside is that the thickest stock is only .130.
 
I have been very happy with both Aldo's 1084 and 15N20 doing simple heat treat in a two brick forge and 120-130F heated canola oil. I've just ground down the 1/8" thick 1084 stock to make thinner bladed knives, and that's with a small Grizzly 1x30 and 5" disc combo sander, very similar to Harbor Freight.

15N20 you have a lot of choices thinner stock from 0.095" and thinner both from Aldo and from Alpha Knife Supply. One caveat is that the thinner you go, and the less even your pre-HT grind is, the more likely you'll have to deal with warp in HT. I usually have to do a couple of temper cycles with the blade counterbent to get things straightened. Too scaredy cat to bend too much while they're cold...
 
I have made chef's knives with 1/8" thick spines as well, but agree, too thick. I really like the .080" - .090" range, and even 1/16" will work with the correct grind.

1080+ is another great choice. You probably won't get the most out of it when heat treating in your forge, but that's OK. This steel is best when you can hold a precise temperature and soak it there for 10-15 minutes. 130F canola is fine for quenching. Keep the hardness up, if using it for kitchen knives. Like 63HRC+. I wouldn't temper it above 350F. 1080+ doesn't have much in the way of carbides to give it wear resistance, so leaving it hard will help with the edge retention. I made a Santoku from 1080+ back in the day with a hardness of 60, and wasn't impressed. Bump up the hardness and the steel behaves much better.

8670 is another extremely tough steel that heat treats fairly easily, and is affordable. Leave it hard, too. 63HRC+

As mentioned in above posts, 15n20 makes a great kitchen knife steel, too, and really shines at higher hardness levels as well.
 
samuraistuart said:
1080+ is another great choice.
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Stuart, by 1080+ you're referring to what's also known as 80CrV2 correct? Just saying because the OP may be more likely to find that steel under the latter name.

I think Hoss had a post about this within the last couple of years that 80CrV2 could be a very good steel for simple backyard HT because it's slower to grow large grain versus regular 1080/1084 when overheated? Somebody correct me if I'm wrong... And I believe large grain will be worse for kitchen edge retention than losing a point of hardness because the edge stability will be badly affected with large grain.

Edited to add: LOL I was trying to Google the thread and found the info that Stacy and you (Stuart) had posted in 2017... (i.e. forgiving austenitizing temp and possibility to equalize at 1550F then quench without soak for backyard HT).
 
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Thanks for all of the responses guys. It sounds like 15n20 would be perfect for my needs. I'm going to order some 0.095" from Aldo.
 
I used 1080+ on my first chefs knife. Thing rusts so fast. Wish I had read this thread and tried 15n20 first. Next round of metal I'll have to give it a try.
 
Yes, 1080+ is also known as 80CrV2. From what I understand, when "80CrV2" was introduced for us makers, some people thought it was a Chinese steel, because it sounded a lot like how they name their steels (8Cr13 for example). So I think it was Chuck at Alpha Knife that designated it 1080+. I even call it 1080CroVan.

As far as the rust....I never noticed it rusting any faster than any other low alloy carbon steel, 15n20 included.
 
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