1075 Carbon Steel 2.5 x 38 x 900mm

Description

One bar of 1075 carbon steel measuring 2.5x38x900mm.

1075 is a versatile steel suitable for beginner knifemakers, easy to forge and to heat treat at home with simple tools. It can make a blade of any size from a tiny wood carver to a sword or machete, or a guillotine blade. For many knifemakers it is what they make their first blade from and it remains a popular choice even for the experienced bladesmith forging high-end custom knives. 1075 is also an excellent choice paired with 15N20 to make Damascus, where 1075 forms the dark lines in the pattern.

1075 is one of the few steels that can be heat treated reasonably accurately by using a magnet to test when it becomes non-magnetic. For most steels the non-magnetic temperature and the correct austenitising temperature are very different; for 1075 the temperatures are quite close. When heating the blade check regularly once it starts glowing red to see when a magnet stops sticking to it. Once the magnet stops sticking keep heating it until it is a little hotter, then quench. Your blade should have been somewhere in the range of 790-825°C. If you have a gas forge, then a digital thermometer and a good quality thermocouple is a small investment that will allow you to see the temperature you are heating to and take the guesswork out of heat treating.

Alloy Content

Carbon – 0.73%
Manganese – 0.664%
Chromium – 0.33%
Silicon – 0.317%
Phosphorus – <0.01%
Sulphur – <0.0008%

Recommended Working Sequence

Forging:  815-1175°C – do not forge below 815°C

Normalizing: Heat to 870°C, cool to black in still air, follow up with refinement cycles at a lower temperatures

Annealing: Heat to 815°C, furnace cool to 650°C at a rate not exceeding 28°C per hour, or bury in an insulating material like vermiculite or wood ash

Grinding, Drilling, Machining

Recommended Heat Treatment

*Coat in Anti Scale Compound

*Austenitise at 815°C until evenly heated – an extended soak time is not required, nor is heating the entire blade and tang i.e. just the edge can be heated

*Quench in oil pre-heated to 50-60°C – vegetable oil or Medium Quench Oil or Fast Quench Oil will all be effective in hardening 1075

*Temper at 200°C for 2 hours, twice

As quenched hardness 65HRC.

Tempered hardness at 200°C 60-61HRC.

Recommended working hardness 58-62HRC, depending on application.

Additional information