O1 Prototype. Quick and Dirty

Entropy762

Entropy762

Well-Known Member
O1 Prototype. Evaluation

The piece is 1/8" O1 heat treated to non magnetic and tempered for two one hour cycles at 375. This took the most time except waiting for the epoxy to cure. I probably spent 45 minutes grinding the bevels and it certainly shows. My grinder is a Craftsman 2X42 modified for 2X48. The platen is just plain steel and is starting to get worn out. I used a battery charger to try to etch my name on it. Didn't like the way it turned out so I sand blasted it. This was the last piece of knife steel I had so this was more or less an experiment on how quickly I could get a knife together. Next time I'm going to take my time grinding the bevels and finish sanding the blade. Any critiques or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks

Jake
 

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That looks good for a prototype. I just designed one similar for a family member. Let us know how the testing goes.

What was that you didn't like about the etch? I use a car battery charger and salt water to etch my blades. So far it seems to work good.
 
The etch actually worked but since the blade still had grind marks in it wasn't as bold as I would have liked. The battery charger worked good. The heat treat and the handle are what I intend to evaluate. I'll try to post results next week.

Thanks

Jake
 
You might want to do some research on heat treating 01 steel, and heat treating steel in general. I am going to assume that you do not have a heat treating oven, or any other way of controlling temperatures much above 500°. 01 requires a more involved process than you are using, if good results are to be expected. 1075, 1080, 1084 steel would be a much better choice of steel, if using limited or simple equipment. These steels are much better suited for beginners using simple or primitive heat treating methods. One more point. A non-magnetic quench heat is not hot enough to get good results in hardness in any blade steel. You need at least 60° more heat in order to achieve a good solution of the iron, carbon, and any other alloys involved. Non-magnetic is only 1414°. 1475° to 1500° is your target heat for most of the carbon steels, and with 01, it needs to soak at 1475° for 15 to 20 minutes in order to form a good solution, due to the extra alloys in it.
 
O1 Prototype. Quick and Dirty Testing Results.

LRB thanks. Your assumption is correct. I moved the blade in and out of the little two brick forge for a few minutes. This was after the steel became non-magnetic. I know, still unknown temperature. I have an old pottery kiln waiting to be cannibalized for a heat treating oven. I tested the blade yesterday.

I like the handle profile. It's swelled in the right places for my hand and I didn't get any hot spots. For testing the edge I made a stropping wheel to get the blade wicked sharp. OK not so wicked the edge is hard alright. It took a while to get a decent edge with my bench stone. Other than hardening correctly I'm going to revisit my tempering. So I sliced through some notebook paper. It sliced ribbons of paper off. Another thing that slightly annoyed me was the paper getting caught in the choil. I'm going to delete this feature in future blades.

Next I tested the edge against a piece of oak board. I took a few chops at it. No edge deformation. Then I really went at it. Around 300 or so cuts a combination of chopping and slicing. Still no edge deformation. The handle stayed tight and was comfortable. I did not try to bend the blade it's designed as a slicer. I'm pretty confident it would have broken due to the primitive heat treatment. After the chop test I sliced through several pieces of card board and another sheet of paper. The edge is not razor, as in shaving sharp, but it sliced cleanly through the paper. The choil still gave me fits.

LRB thanks again for your comments.

Jake
 

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I like it! It looks like you heat treating went well. I have never used O1 but would be happy with those results using a forge. It gets easier as you go using the forge to heat treat. Every knife you make will break if abused. I break my test knives to make sure that there isn't any large grain. Or to make sure that it's not too brittle.
 
You cannot get the best out of 01 when you HT it in a forge. One is better off using a simpler steel that is forge HT friendly rather than spend extra money for a steel you cannot get extra performance from.
 
Thanks Ty. LRB I now intend to get some 1080 or some steel similar to use in my forge. For my O1 blades I'm going to take them to my Dad. He's a semi retired knife maker with the proper heat treating equipment. Thanks for your comments.

Jake
 
A wise move. Try Aldo Bruno, the steel baron, for some 1084. It is enhanced by a tiny addition of vanadium. He offers other varieties too, and will give you tips on the HT for them.
 
Thanks again LRB. I have been looking at the Steel Barons site. I was about to place an order then my septic system backed up. So I'll have to wait a bit.


Jake
 
I have been using the 5/32" 1084 from New Jersey Steel Baron and have been pleased with it so far. I am using a simple gas forge I made. I normalize then heat treat.

I bring it up to nom magnetic and then let it heat up another minute or more. Quench in canola oil. Them let it cool and then temper. Not sure what my Rockwell Hardness is in the end, but the knives I make seem to hold an edge well and do not chip.
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I had to ask. You might be surprised at some things some makers do in HTing. Sounds like you have a good thing going, and your handle work looks very good so far also.
 
LRB said:
I had to ask. You might be surprised at some things some makers do in HTing. Sounds like you have a good thing going, and your handle work looks very good so far also.
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Yeah. And thanks I appreciate!

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