Starret O-1 or not?

A

alexmin

Joined
Nov 16, 2005
Messages
513
Guys,

A friend of mine asked me to make a knife out of Starret O-1 steel. It's a little more expensive than generic O-1. Does anyone know if there are any benefits of buying Starret vs. generic O-1?

BTW Can you recommend any good source for it? I'll need 1/4"
 
IIRC Starret is precision ground and shouldn't have any decarb.That won't mean much if you're going to foge or remove a good bit of material.
 
the first knife (sellable) I made back in 1974
was of Starret O-1 steel.I still use it,, O1:thumbup:
I have some from MSC also..it's ok too.
you can get it from
Admiral steel (they order it P/ground)
and Texas Knife supply
I've use all these places..
 
I buy mine from ENCO company, at what I think is a very good price. Get a price from them.
 
I order most of my O-1 from KBC Tool when it's on sale. It's always listed as U.S. or English manufacture, but everytime it arrives it's always good old Starrett O-1. KBC Tool
 
I found some starrett 0-1 on Ebay, forged a blade from it and had no problems. I have some in my "pile o steel" let me know if there's anything I can help you with. Send a message or call me. SeeYa ;)
 
Hopefully the steel supplier will provide you with a chemical analysis. Ask for this before you buy it. Compare it to Starrett, if they have the same chem composition then they are for all practical purposes the same steel. Some of the companies referred to above do not provide you with a chem analysis but a general comp, this can tell you to a pretty good certainty. Also if the customer really wants the starrett then let them know it will cost just a bit more for this material.

Chuck
 
Maddog McClung - who always uses Starret O1 - posted a while back on his forum that he had problems with a batch and after a lot of back and forth with Starret they finally told him that O1 isn't made at all in the USA anymore. According to him, Starret buy their steel on the international market as they need it and in the end have no idea where it's actually made.

If it's critical to you, you can try and get a lot/batch analysis of the steel you buy.

Edit: Forgot to mention, the actual alloy contents in O1 steel are the same no matter who makes the steel. The alloy isn't a matter of choice. The exact amount each alloy component is allowed to vary within certain limits, but the components themselves will be the same. Better steel has less impurities for example. If the applicaton is critical, then an analysis of the batch is important.

Uddeholm in Sweden make a very good O1 which they sell under their trade name ARNE. If you need a clean, high quality steel, look up someone who sells Uddeholm.
 
O1 warps way too much for my liking...O1 is O1, regardless who makes it..if you want a ground peice, oay the extra money....otherwise dont spend the cash.
 
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