why 01 steel?

[skitertank]

i noticed most,if not all of the makers on this forum almost exclusively use 01 and i cant help but ask why 01? i would like to hear from makers and consumers on why they use it.that would be great,thanks.

 

[pitdog]

I think there are more using 1095 !

From what I understand O1 is very easy to work with and has been described as very forgiving.

 

[raylaconico]

O1 steel is easy to get, easy to work with and makes a great knife so why not? As pitdog mentioned, I think more makers here use 1095 which also makes a great knife and costs half as much as 01 steel. Simple carbon steels like 1095, O1, and 5160 are what I like to use. They work well for the type of knives I make and they're also what my customers want. These steels make great knives so why not?

 

[Jason B.]

Its tough, its easy to sharpen, its holds a edge for a decent amount of time, gets really sharp, it may not be the best steel but it gives you everything you want in a steel besides being stainless.

 

[fujita yuji]

Because it is a very well balanced steel I think.

 

[mete]

O-1 is not a simple and forgiving steel if you want the best properties. Thing is that many are satisfied with less than optimum properties !

 

[Rick Marchand]

Right on Mete.

O1 and 1095 need a little more attention than a maker with a simple forge can provide. I'm one of those simpletons... lol. I use exclusively 1070/80 and 5160 now. Not because I can't make a decent knife with other steels... it's simply that my tooling isn't set up to take advantage of what those great steels have to offer. Soak times, ramping and tightly controlled heats are critical for steels like O1, 1095 and 52100.

Cheesy analogy time...

You wouldn't put a 6cyl engine in a Lamborghini and expect it to still perform like a Lamborghini, would you? A 6cyl engine (simple heat treat) belongs in a vehicle that is made for it... only then will it perform to its full potential. Just as a 12cyl engine (precise heat treat) will bring out the best in a Lamborghini.

... or something like that.

I guess what I'm saying is you can potentially make an inferior knife, using a steel that you're not set up for. There are a lot of misconceptions and bad info floating around out there.


Rick

 

[Sparljo]

Its easy to get... lots and lots of places carry it.

Its also easy to grind, as it is available fully annealed.

Lastly it will usually make a decent enough knife even if you muck up the HT.... which you will if you cant control the temp accurately.

Properly HTed.... it is a really wicked steel.

 

[Marion David Poff]

Right on Mete.

O1 and 1095 need a little more attention than a maker with a simple forge can provide. I'm one of those simpletons... lol. I use exclusively 1070/80 and 5160 now. Not because I can't make a decent knife with other steels... it's simply that my tooling isn't set up to take advantage of what those great steels have to offer. Soak times, ramping and tightly controlled heats are critical for steels like O1, 1095 and 52100.

Cheesy analogy time...

You wouldn't put a 6cyl engine in a Lamborghini and expect it to still perform like a Lamborghini, would you? A 6cyl engine (simple heat treat) belongs in a vehicle that is made for it... only then will it perform to its full potential. Just as a 12cyl engine (precise heat treat) will bring out the best in a Lamborghini.

... or something like that.

I guess what I'm saying is you can potentially make an inferior knife, using a steel that you're not set up for. There are a lot of misconceptions and bad info floating around out there.


Rick

Well said mete and Rick.

Marion

 

[JTR357]

If Randall's been using it all these years,it must be pretty good.

 

[Rick Marchand]

If Randall's been using it all these years,it must be pretty good.

Randall's knives speak for themselves, no doubt he uses it properly. Just don't base the quality of O1 on one maker's success with it. The type of steel is only a small part of what makes a good knife. You can have the best ingredients in the World and still manage to bake a cake that tastes like foot and ass.


Rick

 

[Marion David Poff]

And, if I may add, I don't think Rick or mete are condemning O1.

Just pointing out that it is a pretty hard steel to get right. Being hypereutectoid, it requires very precise handling in the heat treat to be get the best out of it. And if it is not handled correctly, it is actually worse than the 1080s. So, basically, All or Nothing, where All requires some real skill.

Now, if you can get it's All, then it is good stuff.

Marion

 

[pitdog]

To qoute someone who knows much more than me:

0-1 is perhaps the most forgiving of any knife quality steel other than the very simple alloy types, and produces a blade of excellent quality for most normal use. It can be heat treated very easily. Further references? Well, the ole' master, Cooper, used it for many years and folks do love his blades because they're tough. Awhile back, one of the best of the blade smiths said that well treated 0-1 would out cut any Damascus, and no one argued with him. Edge holding is exceptional. 0-1 is precision ground unless you're lucky enough to stumble across some mill bar. Goof up the heat treat and 0-1 will let you try again as often as you like, as long as you don't overheat the metal. Tough on grinding belts.

 

[m. wohlwend]

i noticed most,if not all of the makers on this forum almost exclusively use 01 and i cant help but ask why 01? i would like to hear from makers and consumers on why they use it.that would be great,thanks.

I use 0-1 because it is popular with the knife users on this forum. I also use 1095 and 5160 because they are popular steels. O-1 comes precision flat ground and fully annealed, making it very easy to grind and prepare for your heat treat process. 0-1 also has as much carbon as 1095 with the additon of other alloys that make the steel "tougher" and more wear resistant, as long as the heat treat is done correctly.

To make sure that the heat treats are done right, I use an Evenheat kiln with a programable controller to make sure I get the right temps and the right soak time. I chose an oven because I was tired of looking in a forge and guessing what my temps were. I have all my parts ordered and I am going to hook up a Palmer Wahl to my forge to show the temps I am getting inside my forge.

 

[m. wohlwend]

To qoute someone who knows much more than me:

0-1 is perhaps the most forgiving of any knife quality steel other than the very simple alloy types, and produces a blade of excellent quality for most normal use. It can be heat treated very easily. Further references? Well, the ole' master, Cooper, used it for many years and folks do love his blades because they're tough. Awhile back, one of the best of the blade smiths said that well treated 0-1 would out cut any Damascus, and no one argued with him. Edge holding is exceptional. 0-1 is precision ground unless you're lucky enough to stumble across some mill bar. Goof up the heat treat and 0-1 will let you try again as often as you like, as long as you don't overheat the metal. Tough on grinding belts.

That is a good point Pit, I read a long post by Kevin Cashen, and he called it re-booting your steel. The point being you can go back and with the right steps, you can take O-1 and try your heat treat again.

 

[silenthunterstudios]

For this schmuck, O1 is easy to sharpen but still holds an edge well, doesn't chip, and if I put an ounce of prevention into it, doesn't rust.

 

[wildmike]

O-1 is a great steel with proper heat treat. It makes a blade that takes a really crisp fine edgeand hold it well. Touches up and sharpens fairly easily as well. All while remaining tough enough to handle most outdoors tasks without flinching.

However Mete and Rick are both right as well. It does require a precise heat treat or performance suffers.

I had the pleasure of making a couple knives from O-1 when I was working as a machinist a bunch of years ago. Unfortunately they were later stolen. But the shop had a bagup heat treat facility.

 

[dawsonbob]

Several times I've heard that O1 and 1095 are really super — if they're done right. I get the impression that both of these steels are more difficult to heat treat properly than, say, 1080 series steels. Okay, that just begs the question: assuming a proper heat treat, how much better can they actually be than 1080 series. Between the two — O1 and 1095 — which one is going to give a blade with the best properties (again assuming a proper heat treat)?

I'm not trying to open a new can of worms here; I really would like to know.

 

[Rick Marchand]

To qoute someone who knows much more than me:

0-1 is perhaps the most forgiving of any knife quality steel other than the very simple alloy types, and produces a blade of excellent quality for most normal use. It can be heat treated very easily. Further references? Well, the ole' master, Cooper, used it for many years and folks do love his blades because they're tough. Awhile back, one of the best of the blade smiths said that well treated 0-1 would out cut any Damascus, and no one argued with him. Edge holding is exceptional. 0-1 is precision ground unless you're lucky enough to stumble across some mill bar. Goof up the heat treat and 0-1 will let you try again as often as you like, as long as you don't overheat the metal. Tough on grinding belts.

Good post, Pit (though I would still beg to differ about the EASE of proper heat treatment)... it should be quoted along side this...

O1 is one of the most commonly available tool steels and has been an industry standard for many decades. It possesses a high dimensional stability during heat treatment and is not particularly vulnerable to decarburization. O1 is a fairly deep hardening steel when quenched in oil and it is for this reason that it has too often been incorrectly recommended as a good beginner steel for knifemakers. While it will harden very easily, it is a richer alloy that requires more involved heating and soak times to unlock its full potential in the hardening operation. O1 can cost as much as three times the price as a simple high carbon blade steel which can easily reach their full potential in heat treatment with the simpler equipment most bladesmiths possess, thus making it the less economically prudent choice for many bladesmiths. If you have only a forge to heat treat with why pay extra for a steel that you may not get 100% out of? If however you have the equipment to soak at precise temperature for extended periods, O1 will most likely outperform any of the simpler steels in cutting applications.

 

[m. wohlwend]

O-1 is an alloy steel and not a simple carbon steel such as 1095 or 1075/1080. A properly heat treated 0-1 blade will out perform simple carbons in wear resistance. Although I have yet to find data, I am sure it will out preform simple carbon in the Charpy test also.