1095 or O-1 for a bushcraft knife?

A

awad

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Oct 16, 2009
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I'm in the process of ordering a custom knife and the two options for steel are 1095 and O-1. I'm wondering which would be a better steel for bushcraft/woodsbumming? from what i've been able to gather O-1 has vandium. which doesn't really help me out at all as I don't quite understand what that means. Thanks.
 
I've got both (Laconico and Stomper in O1 and random Moras and a Great Eastern Cutlery in 1095) and both are fine choices. It seems that most folks around here prefer O1 for scandi blades (do a search for Terrasaur to see why some people chose O1 over other steels).

O1 seems to be more expensive lately compared to 1095 so a builder might alter their prices, not that the price of steel is the major determinant to final price...

I'd go with O1 since it has such a great track record around here for bushcrafters.

Who's the builder?
 
they are my 2 favorite steels for user knives and i'll take either of the 2.. but i do prefer O1..
 
O1 takes a more "polished" edge than 1095 I've found out. 1095 prefers a more "toothy" edge. They are both good and I don't really prefer one over the other. O1 is (a little bit)better than 1095 since it is basically that with other elements in it as well.
 
Mr. Sogetsu said:
O1 takes a more "polished" edge than 1095 I've found out. 1095 prefers a more "toothy" edge.
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This is not my experience in the least. I have several in 1095 and O1. I can't tell the difference between them. I have a couple in O1 that don't like to take an edge as well. I chalk that up to the heat treat of them.

When a maker offers more than one type of steel, then your best bet is to ask them which one they've been using the longest and had the greatest amount of time to experiment with. Chose the one the maker likes using the most, not the one you've read specs about.
 
1095 if quenched right will harden up to 67 rockwell before tempering, If temperd at 400 degrees after that it will still be 62 rockwell. I try to get mine in the 60-61 range, which makes for decent edge retention.

Back in the day when I used a forge and a magnet for by basis of heat treating, I made to identical scandis. one in 1095 and one in O-1. After some standard cutting tests, the O-1 kept its edge longer, but only by a few cuts ( less than ten) I was cutting jean material. The O-1 surpassed the 1095 in batoning in soft METAL, but only slightly. When the knives finally failed in the metal cutting test, the results were a little different. When the 1095 failed, it rolled and chipped some, but when the O-1 failed, it chipped deeper, without rolling too much. I repaired both knife by grinding the chips out and they still cut fine.

I have not tried to retest since I have an Evenheat kiln now.... but I might at the next hammer-in I have...
 
kgd said:
When a maker offers more than one type of steel, then your best bet is to ask them which one they've been using the longest and had the greatest amount of time to experiment with. Chose the one the maker likes using the most, not the one you've read specs about.
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I agree fully with kgd. I always ask the maker which one they prefer to work with and go with that choice. If you're hard set on one steel choice pick the maker based on their steel preference.

What maker are you looking at just out of curiosity?
 
The vanadium in O1 allows it to form finer and more carbide grains than 1095. This results in a finer edge which is crisper and sharpens more easily. O1 also has a small amount of chromium which helps it to be a bit tougher at comparable hardness.

In a comparison of the two steels with comparable heat treat O1 will edge out 1095 by a little.

Heat treat is the key with both steels combined with edge geometry.
 
O-1 is much more forgiving in the heat treat. Let me be a little more blunt. You can "get away" with more in the heat treat in O-1. Even with a less than perfect heat treat, you can still get good preformence. 1095 requires a very fast quench to get the best performance out of the steel. If you look at data from Admiral Steel it recomends you quench in water, which is what I used to do. Now I use an actual quenching oil that is formalated to take the heat out of the blade very rapidly. It's not cheap, $80.00 or so for 5 gal, but its performence is very close to water.

When I used water, I cracked alot of blades, with the new oil I think I have cracked one or two....
 
m. wohlwend said:
O-1 is much more forgiving in the heat treat. Let me be a little more blunt. You can "get away" with more in the heat treat in O-1. Even with a less than perfect heat treat, you can still get good preformence. 1095 requires a very fast quench to get the best performance out of the steel. If you look at data from Admiral Steel it recomends you quench in water, which is what I used to do. Now I use an actual quenching oil that is formalated to take the heat out of the blade very rapidly. It's not cheap, $80.00 or so for 5 gal, but its performence is very close to water.

When I used water, I cracked alot of blades, with the new oil I think I have cracked one or two....
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So have ya heatreated any large 1095 blades recently Mark?:D
 
wildmike said:
Heat treat is the key with both steels combined with edge geometry.
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I can't agree more....

Want to know what edged out 1095 and O-1 under the same heat treat in my shop? Recycled sawmill blades! Batoned through the same soft metal... No visible damage. I tried to sell some blades made out of it and no one seemed to want it too much, even though I had made over 100 blades out of it with no failures....

"What's in a name?" :D
 
Thanks everyone! Definitely helpful. I really like what I'm reading about O-1. Also, the maker is our very own Mark Wohlwend (thanks for the responses mark!)
 
I tend to like 1095 more, but that is due to me owning a lot more of it. I do believe it all comes down to experience of the maker with the steels, as pointed out.
 
awad said:
Thanks everyone! Definitely helpful. I really like what I'm reading about O-1. Also, the maker is our very own Mark Wohlwend (thanks for the responses mark!)
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Cool!

I've got two blade blanks that Mark is making for me. One necker in 1095 and a small scandi that hollowdweller designed in O1.

I can't wait.:D
 
Interesting discussion.

I've always wondered about 01 vs 1095 since 01 is so popular and in my experience chips less than some other steels.

But you see a lot of the real scandis from scandiland 1095 so I always wondered if it was a price thing or if they knew something they don't?

Mark, that's cool you actually compared the 2 in a somewhat scientific manner:thumbup:
 
hollowdweller said:
Interesting discussion.

I've always wondered about 01 vs 1095 since 01 is so popular and in my experience chips less than some other steels.

But you see a lot of the real scandis from scandiland 1095 so I always wondered if it was a price thing or if they knew something they don't?

Mark, that's cool you actually compared the 2 in a somewhat scientific manner:thumbup:
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It can be a price thing too.... At Admiral steel prices, I have 7.22 in O-1 steel before shipping costs for an 8 inch by 1 inch by 1/8th inch knife. For the same amount of steel in 1095, I have .95 before shipping....

Shipping can kill you when it comes to steel, so I usually make a big order and find it reduces shipping costs...

My experience with O-1 is that it does perform somewhat better than 1095 coming out of my shop, but I am not sure that you gain more than about 10% in performance... I need to go back and check the charpy tests and see what they read like... Which that leads to another point about steels, most simple carbons perform just as well as exotic Stainless in the charpy tests...
 
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m. wohlwend said:
I can't agree more....

Want to know what edged out 1095 and O-1 under the same heat treat in my shop? Recycled sawmill blades! Batoned through the same soft metal... No visible damage. I tried to sell some blades made out of it and no one seemed to want it too much, even though I had made over 100 blades out of it with no failures....

"What's in a name?" :D
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I think those are L6, if I remember what Raymond Richard said correctly. Tough as nails and takes an edge--he likes to use it for spearheads.
 
Both steels are good. I don't have any experience with 1095 other then the commercially made knives I've used.
If you have Mark making your knife, I'm sure you'd be happy with either one.
As far as vandium in O1, according to crucible's data sheet, O1 does not contain vandium. Vandium is added to steels for increased wear resistance. Steels like A2 (small amount), D2 and the CPM steels such as 3V have added vandium.
Scott
 
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Either way really, I have several of both. I do have to say that I have one in 01 that I can't get a good edge on...and I don't think it's me. Others sharpen up like a champ.
 
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