O1 tool steel for knife blade?

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carboonrider

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TC blades in Israel use this steel hardened to about 62-64 hrc for making custom knives. The knives themselves look astonishing. But I have no idea how it will perform in comparison with other carbon steel such as the White or the Blue in terms of being able to take a sharp edge and retain it.
I find appealing to get a locally made knife... just need to know it will be as good as any other knife.
Thanks
 
I am not an expert, but I heard good things about O1.
Also, as many point out, it's not nesesary the steel "issue", its the (wo)man who works it.
 
There are makers out there who really like the O1. I think it's Pierre Rodrigue's favorite carbon steel (or at least it was a couple years ago). I have a suji from him in O1; I would say it is a little harder to sharpen then the white steel gyuto that I have, but it holds an edge longer. It also holds up pretty wall against the 52100 carbon gyuto and petty that I have.

O1 in the hands of a maker who has nailed the heat treatment will result in a very nice knife.
 
stereo.pete had once said this:

I made a sanding stick out of 1/4" O1 stock that I realized would never make a good knife.


I'm pretty sure what Pete was actually saying is that this particular piece of steel that he had in his hands was never going to become a knife for whatever reason, maybe because its too small, maybe he screwed it up, etc. I'm 100% sure he didn't mean that the steel type was the cause of not being able to make a good knife out of it.
 
I used to be strictly a white #1 guy. All of my knives were made of that. But then I started to branch out and try other steels, AS, Blue 2, Blue 1, White 1, VG10, 52100, 01, etc. I even tried a 440 despite the horrible reputation it has. Honestly, white #1 is still my favorite steel to use in a kitchen... but 01 isn't too far behind that.
 
O-1 rocks. Great steel (in the right hands) that performs on par with any other quality steel.

As an aside, it also takes the sexiest patina.
 
It is go to steel for Will Catcheside , I know bloodrootblades , Ealy and Butch uses it as well, it is an overlooked , older steel that has a very fine grain and and some abrasion resistance . Reaches 60-61 hrc easily and with cryo it can get even harder. I like O1


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O1 is an excellent knife steel in my opinion. Pete probably did not want to grind down .25 thick stock to more reasonable kitchen knife thickness.
 
I also like 01 steel, the patina my knifes takes on is a quite shimmery with tiny almost wootz like pattern in it
 
Martell knives are O1 aren't they? My memory gets foggy and the fact Dave didn't mention it makes me doubt myself. I also have an Ealy in O1. Both are good performers.

k.
 
Good to hear. They have a very good 'customise your knife page'. I guess I am not allowed to put in the link but I've ended up with 270mm [single bevel!] Gyuto, Cocobolo handle with ebony collar, ebony-silver-ebony spacers and I even get some small change from a 1000USD :) played with it for a couple of hours and really enjoyed myself. And, as I said, contrary to most, it is made 60 miles from me which means I can pick it up from the maker himself.
 

Two of these three are O-1. The McGhee and the Wheeler. Both very nice. Kinda like any other appropriate steel, make sure the maker knows how to treat it.
 
stereo.pete had once said this:

Guys just to clarify my statement. The reason I said it would never make a good knife is because a 1 inch by 1/4" bar of steel is too thick, at least in my hands and only good for making a pry bar. O1 is a great carbon steel that when properly heat treated and ground, makes a damn fine knife. My apologies on the way my message was misperceived.

Thanks,

Pete
 
O1 is awesome, and when you break it down, is potentially a better knife steel than 52100. Tslil Censor makes a fabulous knife, with world-class craftsmanship. If you are in Israel, I say, yes you absolutely should get one from him.
 
Honestly, there are some knifesmiths that you could hand a tin can to and they would somehow make an incredible knife out of it *Shrug*. It really comes down to the person working with the steel at the end of the day.
 
Delbert Ealy has a pretty deft hand with O-1 as well. Seems to be his top choice!
 
Tsil might not be an easy character, but his work is simply breathtaking. I have a 270mm kiristuke and i love it a lot!
 
I had a long chat with Tslil about knives and he was very cooperative. As long as I did not ask him to compare O1 to other steel type of the White and blue variety. He refused to discuss this issue point blank. And perhaps he is right. Thing is, it's all about pride of ownership. There is(or are) Corvette models that outpace of Ferrari. But I would still prefer the Ferrari just because it's a Ferrari. And there is is something similar about owning a knife made by Japanese blacksmith from blue#1 steel.
 

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