HeatTreatBench · knife steel heat-treat recipes

O1 Heat Treat Recipe

Tool / PM knife steel · target 57–62 HRC · austenitize 1475°F (802°C)

CategoryTool / PM
Austenitize (recommended)1475°F (802°C)
Austenitize range1450–1500°F (788–816°C)
Soak at temperature10–15 min
QuenchOil (its namesake — oil-hardening)
Temper2× 2 h · cool to room temp between cycles
Reliable hardness57–63 HRC
Classic oil-hardening tool steel — easy to heat-treat, deeper hardening than plain carbon.

Temper → hardness chart

Approximate HRC after a double-temper at each temperature (from the sources below). Set your target and pick the matching temper.

Temper °FTemper °CHardness
350°F177°C62 HRC
400°F204°C61 HRC
450°F232°C59 HRC
500°F260°C57 HRC

Composition (typical, wt%)

Element%
C0.95%
Cr0.5%
V0.2%
W0.5%
Mn1.2%
Si0.3%

AISI O1 / Uddeholm Arne typical

HeatTreatBench — the recipes in your shop, offline

Get the full O1 recipe plus 25 more steels offline — set your target HRC and the app gives you the exact temper, with a forge timer and a per-blade log. Works in the shop with no signal.

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Sources

More Tool / PM steels

A21775°F · 57–62 HRCCPM-3V1950°F · 57–61 HRCCru-Wear1950°F · 60–63 HRCD21850°F · 59–62 HRCCPM-M42150°F · 60–64.5 HRC