O-1 Oil Hardening Tool Steel

[scott.livesey]

I like the idea of this sub-forum. I hope this thread/post is what you are looking for.

STEEL NAMES: These are standardized names by "official" organizations. In addition, some companies also add their own names. Examples are KETOS, ARNE, and BADGER.
AISI: O-1
UNS: T31501
UK: B01
GERMANY: 1.2510
EUROPE: 100MnCrW4


COMPOSITION/ANALYSIS
I have found there are two formulas available. NOS is "new old stock", steel that has been sitting on a shelf.

NOS CURRENT
C 0.90% 0.95%
Mn 1.40% 1.20%
W 0.50% 0.50%
Cr 0.50% 0.50%
V --- 0.20%
Si --- 0.25%
Fe balance balance

HEAT TREATMENT
This is procedure I have been using.
Hardening: Preheat furnace to 1400F. Add blade. Heat to 1475F or 800C. Once blade is at temperature, soak at 1475 for 5 to 10 minutes. Quench in 120F oil (I used 12 second oil from Fuchs) until completely cooled. Clean off oil. Temper at 300F for one hour. Cool in cold tap water and clean off remaining scale. Final temper at 325F to 400F for one hour. My results from an hour at 350F were Rc62-63(5 point check 1/4" below edge of spine)

WHERE TO BUY(the mostest for the leastest)
Victor Machinery http://www.victornet.com/alphabetic/Flat-Ground-Stock-up-to-1-8-quot-thick-/91.html NOS from Sheffeild, England.
Ebay day to day availability, NOS and current. my last buy was 3/32 x 1 1/2 x 18, 1/16 x 1 x 18, and 3/32 x 2 1/2 x 18 for $26 delivered.

COMMENTS
I use 3/32 to 5/32 thickness stock, all so far as been annealed PGFS, so the steel is ready to machine. Very easy to work with annealed, I use cobalt HSS drill bits at 500 to 600 rpm. You need to remove scratches and grinding marks before hardening, trying to remove them after hardening is a PITA. I have not done any subjective testing with this steel. Here is a link to Crucible that has Charpy C-notch test data. Is interesting to note Rc61-63 has the same results as Rc55-57. http://www.crucible.com/eselector/prodbyapp/tooldie/ketos.html

again, I hope this is the sort of thread you want in this subforum.

Scott

links to distributor/manufacturer's tech data
http://www.bucorp.com/files/aisi_o1.pdf
http://www.westyorkssteel.com/tool-steel/o1/ (a place to buy for those on the east side of the big pond)
http://www.cintool.com/catalog/Oil_Hardening/O1.pdf
http://www.latrobesteel.com/assets/documents/datasheets/LSS_O1.pdf
http://www.bestar-steel.com/site_files/files/material_data/BE2510.pdf
http://www.akmsteelsltd.co.uk/our-products/downloads/cold-working-tool-steel/1.2510_en.pdf (includes CCT diagrams) (a place to buy for those on the east side of the big pond)
http://www.bohler-edelstahl.com/files/K460DE.pdf (includes CCT diagrams)
http://www.premium-steel.eu/our-products/product-overview/4-aisisae-o2-o1 (a place to buy for those on the east side of the big pond)
http://www.interlloy.com.au/our-products/tool-steel/o1-tool-steel-100mncrw4/?output=pdf (for our friends in OZ)
http://www.poldi.cz/tool-steels (a place to buy for those on the east side of the big pond)
http://newjerseysteelbaron.com/shop/o-1/ (in stock)

 

[Fred Rowe]

I have gotten a lot of breakage when I temper 01 at 350. I agree your temperatures are correct and it will Rockwell @ 62 or 63 if your using a mid range oil. 450 will give 59 or 60 which is a lot more forgiving. 01 likes stress relief after forging also. Two hours at 1200 prior to normalizing is a good combination.

Thanks for posting the information, Fred

 

[GHEzell]

I have gotten a lot of breakage when I temper 01 at 350. I agree your temperatures are correct and it will Rockwell @ 62 or 63 if your using a mid range oil. 450 will give 59 or 60 which is a lot more forgiving.

Agreed, 450F makes for a much tougher edge with good edge holding, IMO.

O1 is also a pain to forge, very resistant to the hammer compared to 10xx series steels, difficult to anneal without a kiln, and tends to air harden in thin sections.

 

[TASelf]

I have gotten a lot of breakage when I temper 01 at 350. I agree your temperatures are correct and it will Rockwell @ 62 or 63 if your using a mid range oil. 450 will give 59 or 60 which is a lot more forgiving. 01 likes stress relief after forging also. Two hours at 1200 prior to normalizing is a good combination.

Thanks for posting the information, Fred

Hi Fred! What style of knives did you experience the breakage with? Were you doing testing or they broke in normal use at 62? Edge chipping out or actually broke? The info I have says the peak of hardness and toughness for O1 is 62 (41J @ 62). Any additional info on your experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Tom