What can you do with O1?

P

Protactical

Joined
Aug 24, 2003
Messages
717
Sadly I can't get the search to look up O1, not enough letters. I know it is a fine knife and tool steel, and that it can be differentialy hardened. I am making my own knives, and heat treating my own steel in a forge. I don't yet do the whole blacksmith thing, though I can't wait.

What kind of cool things can one do with O1. Is there anything that can be done to generate a better hamon? What can I do to harden the edge but also harden the rest of the knife to a spring steel hardness? I blue, but is there anything else interesting I can do with colour?

I'm going to stick with O1 for a while, and am just interested in any cool things I might be overlooking.

Thanks
 
add a * to the search


O1* will turn up about a million threads. This would be better then anything I could offer. Good luck.
 
Do a search for O1 tool steel and see what comes up. You will have a virtual warehouse of knowledge available.
 
Limit Your search to shop talk forum and you will narrow it down quite a bit. the only O-1 ive ever worked with is some drill rod that I make little blacksmith's knife out of.

Mark
 
You could try a search with the words added to O1 like: Starrett, Carpenter and Ketos. Hope that helps.
 
Personally I love O-1. I've made 5 or 6 knives out of it (stock removal) and have some custom knives made out of it (2 Dave Beck's, 2 Gene Ingram's) and Camillus / Becker uses a modified O-1 in their line as well.

I like the fact that it can be differentailly hardened, holds an edge well and is easily sharpened. It can be blued, or Parkerized which I think is a nice military style finish. It can be aged and antiqued with mustard, or Feric Choride as well. I found that it's everything I need in a non-stainless knife steel.
 
I agree. Properly heat treated O1 is all the steel the normal person needs.
 
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