Forging O-1?

[RGraff]

Complete newbie question here. I have a good supply of O-1 left over from when I had my machine/fab shop and I was wondering if this is a steel suitable for forging knives? I've used it before for a couple knives but only as stock removal, never forged. I have sizes ranging in thickness from 1/2" to 1" rounds and 1/4" to 3/8" flats. Any special considerations for quenching, tempering, annealing, etc.? We always used ATF for quench when making hinge pins. Will this work for knives?

Thanks in advance.

[Rich Hale]

0-1 steel makes great cutting tools including knives. I have made a lot of folders from this steel. I grind to shape When I forge blades I use mostly 1084.
When I am looking at a new steel for me to use I first google for working data and specs. It will give you quench medium, Forging temps, annealing temps and heat treat information. Got me curious with this post. I googled it and a couple of sites did not list forging temps. One of the wizards here may be able to 'splain that. The bars you have were shaped hot. If I had your supply I would likely forge them into wot I wished and then make test blades and run them through testing. i use atf for my folder blade heat treat.

[Stormcrow]

O1 is a great knife steel (though not one I've played with yet) with good edge retention. It's a bit prone to rust. ATF should work, but I'm a proponent of quenching in canola oil. Good quench speed, hardens nicely without overstressing the steel, and non-toxic.

Someone with more experience using O1 will be along shortly to give better data, I'm sure. :)

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Thinner sections will air harden. I make bar loader collets at work out of O-1 (would rather use a spring steel, but this is what we have at the moment)and I just heat , and remove the flame to harden the tines. Annealing will take a process, as it will air harden. Keep the heat in it while forging to avoid cracks.

[RGraff]

Excellent...thanks guys. I'll give it a go.

BGD...your sig line about the golf course is perfect. ;)

[royce unruh]

rgraff o1 was suggested to me by http://www.popsknifesupplies.com/ as the best forgable knife steel that he knew of in his opinion i have finished one knife so far from it now i am a complete noob still on knives but i like the way it works and would like to get some more where did you buy the round from? my knife is here good luck

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Look at MSC, or any of the other machine shop suppliers for O-1. Pretty inexpensive through them, and they have specials through the year.

[coldsteelburns]

O1 steel is most deffinitely a great steel for both stock removal and forging. Although I myself havnt really had the chance to forge with it, I have read many places that it is great to forge with. I remember reading a quote from somewhere that said (I can't remember specific sites or names of the people who said these things, but it is something that I have just picked up over the past few years that I've been into knifemaking and bladesmithing) a very well known bladesmith said that O1 tools steel will out cut even the best damascus blade there is as long as you have the skills to heat treat it perfectly, and appearently he was among a bunch of other bladesmiths when he said that and not one person disagreed with him. Again I appologize for not remembering the webpages or names. Basically the fact of the matter is that O1 tool steel has the potential to produce a much better knife than most other steels (when forged under proper conditions and heat treated properly) . But a simple answer to ur question is yes, O1 steel is a great forging steel and is also very forgiving when it come to heat treating (i.e you can re-heat treat it multiple times without worring about ruining the integrity of the steel) which makes it a nice steel for begginers, although 1084 HC steel is the perferred steel for beginners due to it being very easy to heat treat without pricey equipment.

-Paul