Heat Treating O1

backtines

Well-Known Member
Hey Guys ,

Ive been making knives for about 3 plus years now and 95% of my knives have been made from 1095 . I think I have the whole HT and tempering down pretty good .

I wanted to try something different , so I bought a chunk of O1 ( which I never used before) . I would like to know your thoughts on the HT and tempering process..

1. Will I be safe at running my oven at 1450 for 10 min or so and tempering at 350 / 375 for 45 minutes ( 2 cycles ) ??

2. Ive read different methods on actually putting my blade in the oven . At what temp should I put the blade in the oven ? Or does it not really matter?

3. Id like to maybe mess around with a hamon .. Is O1 a good steel to try it on ?

4.Ive been covering my blades with an anti scale powder that works GREAT !! , No scale left after HT. Now that Id like to attempt creating a hamon I guess the clay or furnace motar that I will be using will somewhat act as an anti scaling paste ??

Your thoughts ??
 
01 tool steel is tough and predictable and makes a great blade. It benefits greatly from stress relief before hardening. Stress relief is done at 1200 fh for 2 hours. Move the hardening temp up to 1475 or 1500, the 10 min. soak for blades is adequate. Tempering at 400fh will result in an hrc of 60 to 61. Ramping temperatures at full can overheat a blade. Either bring the temp up in stages or let the oven come to heat before inserting the blade.
You are working with a deep hardening steel when using 01; its the result of the large amount of manganese. 01 if not a good steel is your looking to produce a hamon.
Use a medium speed oil for 01 if available.

Fred
 
I have never heat treated O1 myself but have used it a lot. Probally one of my favorite steels to work with and use.
 
I have never heat treated O1 myself but have used it a lot. Probally one of my favorite steels to work with and use.

Just curious Jim. Is it a favorite because it normally comes ground - or because of its performance? Phrased a little differently, would it still be a favorite unground with a mill finish?
 
Just curious Jim. Is it a favorite because it normally comes ground - or because of its performance? Phrased a little differently, would it still be a favorite unground with a mill finish?

I would say yes to both. 01 is an abrasion resistant steel due to it's alloys and holds an edge very well. HT'ed with good equiptment and process, it is very predictable in it's out come. The HT takes more steps and time than the 10xx steels, but is easier to achieve good results with.
 
I would say yes to both. 01 is an abrasion resistant steel due to it's alloys and holds an edge very well. HT'ed with good equiptment and process, it is very predictable in it's out come. The HT takes more steps and time than the 10xx steels, but is easier to achieve good results with.

Hi , would you mind your HT process with O1 ? Id really be interested in your process.. Thanks
 
I take my blades to just shy of final finish with about a .015 edge thickness. I then give the blades a stress relief at 1225° for an hour and air cool. They are then coated with ATP-641 anti-scale and allowed to dry overnight. They get another coat of ATP along the edge and point dried with a hair dryer and into the oven where they are pre-heated to 1250° for 45 minutes. The oven is set to ramp on up to 1400° and hold for 10 minutes to let the oven pre-soak and then to 1475° for a 15/20 minute soak after the oven will hold that temp reasonably steady. The blades are in slots cut in a fire brick and about 1 1/2" to 2" under the thermo-sensor and pretty much centered. I only do three at a time in order to keep them away from the coils. When time is up they are quenched point down in 5 gallons of Parks AAA that has been heated to 125° to 130°, and moved fore and aft until I think the blade can be touched without being burned. With most, depending on thickness, they can be hand straightened if there is warp, before they cool much more. There is usually about a five minute window to do that. I have found that there is less warp the longer they stay in the oil, within reason, but then if there is warp, they can no longer be hand straightened. They are then tempered at 425°/450°, depending on the projected use and size, 2 x 2.
By use of the ATP-641 I get no scale, no pits, no decarb. ATP is painted on. Easy to use, easy to get off, and it works. Most comes off in the quench. The rest rubs off with a coarse rag.
 
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Sorry about that. I like how it grinds and finishes along with the results from using the finished knife. From the knives I made, I had sent out to be heat treated. I have a new Evenheat oven on it's way and will do my own soon.
 
Give 01 a try Mike. I think you will like how it grinds and when heat treated right it has awesome strength and edge holding ability. I have used it quite a bit and like it. I have been into stainless for a while now, but still like the carbon blades. But if you want a knife with a hamon, I would stick with the 10xx steels.
I would love to get some thick 01 and make a small camp hatchet someday.
 
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