What is a good steel for a beginning basher

J

JDW

Well-Known Member
What is a good forging steel for a beginner? Looking for an easy steel to work with. I am thinking about 5160, O1, W1 1084, 1095. Whitch of these would be better as far as being forgiving if your heat is not right where it should be during forging? Is there one that I haven't thought of?
Dale
 
01 is generally considered a great steel with a lot of forgiveness for heat treating built in. I suppose you could say that about the others you listed also. I'd pick 01 or 1084 personally.
 
Dale, I have been having a real good time with rebar. Normalize and to non mag then quench in McCarr 11 sec oil. After 2--2 hr draws @ 375 it will still skate a file. I love playing with it.
Jerry
 
Dale, you sort of opened a can of worms here. Everyone has their favorites for steel, all for good, bad, and indifferent reasons. All that you have mentioned would have their proponents. Some claim that O-1 can be a little fussy when it comes to forging in that it can be a little red short. That is it will mush up and fall appart if it is worked too hot. There has also been some problems noted with heat treating 1095. The W1, 1084, and 5160 are pretty easy to forge and heat treat. I would also like to add 9260 to that list. It is a high silicon steel that seems to hold a edge well and heat treats easily.

With all respect to Jerry, I would recommend that you avoid rebar. Some will harden quite well, like a 6' length of 1" rebar that I found in my back yard when I moved in. Some doesn't have enough carbon to hold an edge. It is all probably from some steel in the 10XX series. The problem is that you will have to test each piece of rebar to determine if it is suitable for knife making and then determine the best heat treatment for it. Leave the mystery metal alone until you have some knife making experience under your belt. You will have enough to learn without having to figure out the heat treatment for each individual piece of steel that you get.

Doug Lester
 
I would say 1084 or 5160. Either will forge well and heat treat easily. 1095 is not beginner friendly with heat treat, nor is 01, and 01 has to be forged much hotter than 10xx steels or 5160. I am thinking 01 has to be forged upwards of 1900°, and best left to stock removers and heat treat ovens.
 
I would say 5160 or 1085, or possibly Cru-Forge V (I don't see many recommendations for this last steel even though it was developed to be easy to forge and HT, I have used it and I like it).
Choosing between these might best be done by what quenchant you have availible. If you can get a fast quench oil, the 1085 is an excellent choice. If you are using a slower quench oil or veggie oil, mineral oil, motor oil, etc. then 5160 or Cru-Forge would suit a little better, IMO.
 
Thanks to all for the help. I do need to clarify one point, I am not new to knife making, or heat treating, just new to forging knives, been doing stock removal since 2004. So the main question has to do with how the different steels forge, like Doug pointed out about O1 when forged too hot, that kind of stuff. I sure didn't mean to open a can of worms with this question. It looks like 1084 and 5160, are at the top of the list. Where is a good place to buy 5160?
Thanks again to all who commented, Dale
 
I buy 1084, 1095, 5160, and O-1 from Aldo. He seems to have the best prices and customer service. "Uncle Aldo" is great to work with!
 
steel

Aldo's 1084 or some 5160. If your not careful forging O1 you can turn it into cottage cheese. Good luck, and happy beating!!!:D
 
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