Thread: Whats the best steel for my project

I am currently working with someone on making a new blade for my leather skiver he's a machinest (not a knife maker) so what is the best steel he could use that would hold it's shape after hardening ,require little or no grinding afterwords and would hold an edge plus be easy to sharpen?

I would recommend O-1 steel

Originally Posted by ScottGoodman

I would recommend O-1 steel

Thanks for your reply

That is what i had suggested to him when i originally inquired about it. He seemed to think that since it was oil hardened that there would be a chance of it warping and then require grinding to get it flat. I personally don't have any experience with a knife grinder so as little grinding as possible is what i'm after. Would a piece that thick (3/8") be prone to warping?

Anything will warp if you grind it too thin before the Heat Treatment. I personally leave things a little thick and then final grind. With that being such a simple flat grind, I would leave the edge about 2mm. After Heat Treatment I would either give it another flat grind (double bevel) or finish the original flat grind.

I agree w the 01 tool steel.