KnivesForum

gnique · User Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Posts: 24

I have a fairly simple shop and I make knives by stock removal. I'd like to know if there is a step by step method to heat treat O1 and 1095 steel. Do these steels need to be kept at the critical temperature for any length of time before they are quenched? I've read in many, many places that heat treating is very important and I believe that it is. I've also read that O1 and 1095 are almost the best steels available for knife blades. Are there steps to heat treating? Is it just heat and quench? I've had very good results so far but can I get even better blades with a more precise and involved heat treat? I'm not trying to make things complicated but I would like to push my blades as far as possible. Thanks.

Macabee · Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 3:01 pm Post subject:

The 1095 is a simple steel so you can bring it up to critical and quench. I treat O-1 the same way. Maybe giving your blades a 5 minute soak will help make sure they are critical all the way through.

There are a lot of people who think tripple normilization is the way to go.
I personaly only normalize once but you defianatly want to do a normalization process to help refine the grain.

Gary S · User Joined: 30 Sep 2009 Posts: 1 Location: Leeds

The 1095 is easier to heat treat that the O1. With O1 the rule of thumb is to thoroughly heat the piece. I've been advised that you need to allow 30 minutes per square 1" of sectiona to ensure that the component is completely soaked through.
Theres a good page heat treatment page here http://www.westyorkssteel.com/01.html