Thread: O1 steel for razors

I hope I'm in the right place to ask this.

Is "01" steel used for razors considered a "soft" steel?

How does it differ from "tool" steel?

Does 01 steel have any "bad" characteristics, like a tendency to rust easily?

Thanks in advance.

Paul

01 is not a soft steel IMO. It is a through hardening tool steel. It is often recommended to beginning blade smiths as it is very easy to harden. The alloys in it make finish sanding more difficult than simple carbon steels IME. The chemical analysis varies depending on the vendor which is one of the things that I dislike about it. Some of it has tungsten which makes very hard carbides that are hard to finish.

Originally Posted by PaulKidd

I hope I'm in the right place to ask this.

Is "01" steel used for razors considered a "soft" steel? No, O-1 can be plenty hard...low 60's HRC is common tempered numbers

How does it differ from "tool" steel? O-1 is referred as a tool steel by many.

Does 01 steel have any "bad" characteristics, like a tendency to rust easily? 0-1 will rust just as easily as most other carbon steels. I personally always keep some around.

Thanks in advance.

Paul

I echo everything Victor mentioned above

Originally Posted by bluesman7

01 is not a soft steel IMO. It is a through hardening tool steel. It is often recommended to beginning blade smiths as it is very easy to harden. The alloys in it make finish sanding more difficult than simple carbon steels IME. The chemical analysis varies depending on the vendor which is one of the things that I dislike about it. Some of it has tungsten which makes very hard carbides that are hard to finish.

All of it has Tungsten iirc. That is what makes it O1. But the amounts seem to vary.
I dislike O1. My advice for a beginner would be 1095 or 1084 and oil harden it.

When I just started out I wanted to make 52100 razors because it is so much tougher than O1.
Then I actually made a 52100 kitchen knife and a lot of cursing later, I decided that I hate 52100 and if you don't know why, I suggest hand sanding a 52100 blade It's extremely abrasion resistant.
I would make a machete out of it though.

Just to be sure: O1 is great steel. But not my preferred choice for razors.

The best shaving razor I've owned was of 02 steel. Bruno made the blade.

O2 is imo the perfect steel for razors and I WOULD recommend it for everyone making razors, beginner or pro.
Except it is impossible to get in the US because it is not made anymore or imported.

In Europe it is still a commonly used type of steel. I don't do a whole lot of carbon steel work anymore, but the dark element of my damascus is O2.

If your doing the heat treat yourself, I would not do o1 for a beginners razor or knife. Unless you have a good heat treat oven, that is. O1 needs a soak time from between 1450 to 1500f for 10-30 minutes to get everything into solution, then while not necessary. Something like parks AAA oil or about that speed, at about 130-150f. Will give you about 63-65 HRC. Then temper as desired. Something like 1080 would be a lot easier for a beginner being it doesn't need a soak time. You would still get good hardness also

O1 steel is considered to be a oil-hardening tool steel. It has up to 1% carbon. It has small percentages of chromium, manganese, tungsten, and vanadium. It can be hardened up to 64 HRC, but making it that hard is not necessarily a good thing for razors.


In the hands of a skilled craftsman, O1 can make a good razor; but the results do not always turn out well. I have only one razor made of O1 steel. I have tried over and over to hone a decent edge on the blade, but have not been able to do so. I have no issue with other razors. The steel is quite "chippy". I presume it was not tempered properly.

I know there are good razors made from O1, but I won't risk purchasing another O1 blade.

Just curious what is the maker of the razor you have