Calculator › Steels › O1
O1 is the machinist's tool steel and the stock-removal maker's friend: it is sold precision ground and flat in every size, it holds an edge well, and it heat treats reliably in a kiln with a modest soak. It is less happy in a forge — narrow forging range, and it needs the soak to dissolve its carbides.
| Good for | Stock-removal hunters, EDC and kitchen knives, woodworking tools; makers with a kiln. |
|---|---|
| Forging | 1800–1950 °F, do not forge below 1550 °F — a narrow window; buy it to size if you can |
| Normalize | Buy annealed. After forging, normalize once at 1600–1650 °F, then anneal 1425–1450 °F with a slow cool |
| Austenitize | 1475–1500 °F, 10–30 min soak (mills say 30 min per inch) |
| Quench | Medium oil (Parks AAA); high hardenability |
| Temper | 400 °F twice → 60–63 HRC |
| Working hardness | 60–63 HRC |
Typical shop values. Confirm against your supplier's datasheet.
Precision-ground flat stock in every thickness from 1/16 to 3/8 in and widths from 1 to 4 in at knife suppliers (industrial suppliers go to 1 in thick and 12 in wide), in 12, 18, 24 and 36 in lengths. The widest range of any steel here.
Suppliers: New Jersey Steel Baron Alpha Knife Supply Jantz
Steel is only part of the cost. Add abrasives, handle, heat treat and your time, and see the price that actually pays you.
Copy link to this calculationIt can be forged but it does not want to be: narrow working range, cracks if worked cold, and it still needs a soak at hardening. Use 1084 for forging and O1 for stock removal.
Bar sizes for ten common knife patterns, weight per inch for every standard flat bar, and quick heat-treat numbers for the usual carbon steels. Print it, tape it to the grinder.