01tundra Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 A guy in the office just brought this in and asked if I wanted it so I hit him with my standard reply instantly - "sure". First thing I thought is that maybe I've finally found the perfect piece to make my first knife from. No idea what the specs are, below is all I've been able to find so far. I'm going to try to call the company tomorrow and see if they have any additional info. The info below lists the point as "hardend tool steel", but the entire bar appears to be made from the same material. Anybody have an idea if this steel would be good for a knife? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccustomknives Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 With what limited information we have there, I'd venture that they are O-1. Sterrett makes a most excellent O-1 for knives. You'll have to do a little testing to see if it is good steel for a knife. It could very well be A-2 or D-2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 They may give you the us steel code, euro code, asian or south african designations, so if its not a "tool steel" code don't discard until you check it out. Not a knife guy per say but steel designations are getting complicated as most of it is coming to us from offshore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I believe the piece is hardened end to end, to allow for repeated "sharpening" of the angle to retain the point as it slowly dulls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Sell it to someone who can use it in their height gage, and use the money to buy a piece of known steel. Or just hang onto it. A long straight edge with a scribing tip can come in handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakersteve Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 It will probably be fine for a knife based on ability to harden to 62. The questions is, how will you harden it if you dont know proper method for type of steel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01tundra Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Talked to the manufactuer. It's O1 tool steel with an induction hardened tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 So that makes things pretty straif forward. Tho not all O1 is created equal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin1050 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 You are going to need to anneal it before working it. That involves heating it to a non magnetic state and allowing it to cool slowly. Search the site or google it for more information and techniques. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Only the tip will be hard from the description. O-1 is pretty cheap cost wise, so easy to find more if this doesn't work out. 0-1 will air harden in thin sections, so be careful if you forge it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhartironwerks Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Free is a really good price. You have nothing to lose by experimenting as you already have a semblance of a starting point. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanJ Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Anything that says Starrett on it is worth money to someone -- they make very high quality, very expensive measurement tools. Might be worth throwing on Ebay and buying many similar lengths of O1 for the price that would fetch. For example A straight scribwer made bu Starrett is listed at $60 on ebay. Off site sales link replaced with only the needed info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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