Sear Material

[LRB]

More specific? I would say so. Lead and linotype would be as apples to oranges, just the same color. The linotype should give satisfactory results and although I gave you the specs for the best, the linotype would be the simplest for you not having an HT oven. I would caution you on relying on color for tempers. That is a poor way to judge temperature and especially with 01, very unreliable. Different steels, different alloys, different reactions, different heat treats. One more tip and you are on your own. After quenching 01 wait 15/20 minutes before tempering. 01 is slow to fully convert to martensite, (full hardness). On a small part such as a sear, probably not critical, but no harm in waiting a tad bit. I have straightened minor warps in 01 knife blades by hand pressure as long as 10 minutes after quench. Good luck.

 

[10 Ga.]

Does anyone have opinions about 1095 as sear material? I bought some after the original suggestions. Any different procedure or temps used for 1095? I can use 01 if necessary it’s just not what I have coming in right now.

-10Ga

 

[user 34300]

O1 Tool Steel​

Composition

C	Mn	Si	Cr	W
0.94	1.20	0.30	0.50	0.50

​

AISI SAE 1095 Chemical Composition​

The table below lists AISI 1095 carbon steel chemical composition.

AISI 1095 Chemical Composition (%)
ASTM	AISI Type (UNS)	C	Mn	P (≤)	S (≤)
ASTM A29/A29M	1095 (UNS G10950)	0.90-1.03	0.30-0.50	0.040	0.050

It will work very well too.​

 

[LRB]

Does anyone have opinions about 1095 as sear material? I bought some after the original suggestions. Any different procedure or temps used for 1095? I can use 01 if necessary it’s just not what I have coming in right now.

-10Ga

Could you send a photo of the sear you want to replace? How do you intend to shape it? If you have to heat bend or forge in any way, 01 has a tendency to air harden a bit after being heated to red, possibly making things slightly tougher to shape and it will also be somewhat brittle until it is shaped, and heat treated. 1095 requires a very fast cooling quenchant in order to reach a good hardness level to be tempered back in the heat treat. For your needs the heat treat may not be all that critical. The normal/common object of the heat treat is to fully harden the steel so that you get all of its benefits, then temper it according to a needed degree of hardness and strength for the same reason. For either steel, you will not get the best heat treat with less than a HT oven, and/or a proper quenchant for the 1095. However, for what you are needing to make, you should be able to get a usable result from either. If you go with 1095, heat to red-orange, then quench in warmed canola oil. No other grocery store type oils have a chance of cooling 1095 fast enough. Then as soon as you can handle the piece bare handed, temper it at 450/475 in your kitchen range. Have it pre-heated. 1095 will/can crack/break if not tempered soon after hardening. Temper the piece for one hour. It works best if buried in dry sand for the temper. The sand holds the heat more level as the oven cycles. With 1095, 2 tempers are better than a single temper. leave the oven going and cool the part with a fan then put the part back in for another hour.

 

[LRB]

O1 Tool Steel​

Composition

C	Mn	Si	Cr	W
0.94	1.20	0.30	0.50	0.50

​

AISI SAE 1095 Chemical Composition​

The table below lists AISI 1095 carbon steel chemical composition.

AISI 1095 Chemical Composition (%)
ASTM	AISI Type (UNS)	C	Mn	P (≤)	S (≤)
ASTM A29/A29M	1095 (UNS G10950)	0.90-1.03	0.30-0.50	0.040	0.050

It will work very well too.​

The best quality 01 also has a good dose of vanadium

 

[10 Ga.]

@LRB What temperature should I warm the canola oil to for quenching? I plan to post the rest of the build to my previous thread Fixing up an old 10 Gauge SxS. I have currently shaped and twisted the sear and I plan to continue shaping it then finish with the quench and temper. Thank you all again for all your help. It would be very difficult to do all of this without your wealth of knowledge.

-10 Ga.

 

[LRB]

I would heat it to 125°f to 130°f.