O1 Steel Knife

O1 tool steel knives features.

O1 steel knife.

Simply put o1 is a better choice for knife blades particularly where wear resistance is key. O1 tool steel is the original oil hardening non shrinking tool steel that can be hardened to the rockwell c 65 range from a low austenitizing temperature. However the history is a bit more interesting than that. High tungsten high vanadium o1 is a better steel for knife blades than o2.

Amazon s choice for o1 tool steel knife rmp knife blade steel high carbon annealed 1095 knife making billets 1 5 inch x 12 inch x 0 187 inch 3 pack 4 5 out of 5 stars 123. Some popular steels in this group include d2 o1 and crucible s cpm series i e. Thanks to johnny ngo and althesciencepal for becoming knife steel nerds patreon supporters. O1 steel is a newer form of steel that is employed in the forging of knives and other objects.

O1 is a general purpose tool steel that is typically used in applications where alloy steels cannot provide sufficient hardness strength and wear resistance. Cpm 3v plus more advanced high speed steels like m4. Unlike damascus steel blades which have a beautiful wavy pattern on them this steel only has its lustre and no pattern. It s known as a low alloy steel due to the fact that it contains eight additives.

The charts below aid visualization of the strengths and weaknesses of a particular knife steel. Back to page topics. The most well rounded steels like cpm 154 and 154cm create an even shape while a steel like cpm 3v is severe due to high toughness and lower scores in all other categories. Tool steel primarily hard steel alloys used in cutting tools.

The trade off is being more prone to corrosion given the low chromium content. The other minerals added are carbon at 0 95 silicon at 0 4 chromium at 0 5 tungsten at 0 5 vanadium. O1 tool steel equivalent being a hard tool with great edge retention toughness wear resistance but rust easily it brings me to the aisi l6. For more information on steel alloys transformation and applications link to my heat treating and cryogenic treatment of knife blades page.

O1 tool steel is a cold work steel and is one of the most forgiving for making knife blades. O1 is a small step below a2 in terms of blade steel performance. Its origin traces back to the decade of 1940 and ever since it has become popular. O1 steel was developed in 1905 by halcomb steel which was acquired by crucible steel a few years later 1 2.

The largest additive is manganese at just 1 2.