1095 Steel

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2pacman

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Jun 13, 2017
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Hi guys !

I'd like to hear some opinions on 1095 steel because it is used in a lot of outdoors fixed blades. My problem is that it is used for very cheap knives up to very expensive so I don't know how to categorize it.

Pls tell me how does it perform or how does it compare to other known knife steels because I'm new in the fixed blade game.

I've heard often it's great bec it's easy to field sharpen but doesn't that mean it has bad edge retention? Isn't a pm-steel better for carving and such or is it only better in folders for light tasks?

Thx for your help

Kind regards!
 
1095 is kind of the old school, works very well, easily fabricated, easily heat treated standard of knife making for many many years.

It's a good steel, user friendly, can be tempered how the maker wants it from fairly springy to hard as a rock.

Reasonably easy to sharpen, it was used in an awful lot of military knives.

It's got a lot of carbon and, will rust pretty easily. With a little care, it will serve you well.

There's many steels that are better in different facets of knife use. More flexible..more rust resistant...hold an edge longer etc.

But, it may not be the Gold Standard of knife making...but, it may be one of the most senior and respected members of the club.
 
The difference between a cheap 1095 knife and an expensive one is likely the heat treat which will make the knife. Not thay all cheap 1095 blades will be poorly heat treated or all expensive ones well.
 
Lapedog said:
The difference between a cheap 1095 knife and an expensive one is likely the heat treat which will make the knife. Not thay all cheap 1095 blades will be poorly heat treated or all expensive ones well.
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From the little I've read, 1095 is easy to heat treat properly. The price difference is added profit, that's why TOPS uses 1095 but charges more.
 
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I like the stuff for wood splitters. A Becker BK2 (a bit of an absurd knife, and a phenomenal batoner) runs like 80 bucks. The PM competitor from BRKT runs like high two hundred. Being that a batoner is somewhat immune to the edge retention question, I just can't justify the high price difference. I hate how easily the stuff rusts though.

For edge-use blades though, the question is more complicated, and dropping $150+ for PM steels becomes more reasonable.

Also I seriously do not understand the insane price premium some companies put on the stuff. Soft 1095 for ~$160 for an ESEE 5? I think that is ridiculous.
 
Beansandcarrots said:
Also I seriously do not understand the insane price premium some companies put on the stuff. Soft 1095 for ~$160 for an ESEE 5? I think that is ridiculous.
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I've heard that comment before about ESEE blades price, but although I'm an ESEE owner and fan so I could be a little biased :D, I think there's a reasonable explanation for their relatively higher priced carbon steel blades.

  • They do a great job on the blade design overall. They have a really quality sabre grind with great edge geometry--mine can slice vegetables and chop through 5" logs easily, and yes I've really done both, within the last week. And they are known to do a great job on their heat treat.
  • They come with a better-than-average factory sheath. Their sheaths are one of the few that, on a production knife when I buy, I just use what they ship rather than buy custom, they're more than adequate for me.
  • They have really good micarta handles. Again, not custom quality--and you can also buy aftermarket handles for them--but the vast majority of users on their bigger blades just use the factory micarta handles, they are that good.
  • The knives are made in the USA. Many cheap carbon steel blades, like Schrade (which I also like, btw) are made in China.
Bottom line: it's true ESEE ships a higher priced 1095 knife. However IMHO, this is because they do a few things to make it a higher quality complete knife system than some competitors.
 
1095 is the old standby. it's simple ,easy to heat treat, not too expensive, it's a good tough steel, and many people are familiar with it.
I find it to be about the perfect fixed blade steel, however I also love whatever carbon steel imperial used.
 
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I love the stuff. Incredibly easy to maintain, gets sharp and stays that way long enough.

I have everything from cheap Schrade's up to a custom Bob Ogg slipjoint in 1095. I like them all, folders and fixed blades alike.

Some folk worry about the corrosion resistance. Pffft. It's more corrosion resistant than my vehicles and mountain bikes, and I got no problem keeping those rust free. Same with my knives. Some have a righteous patina, but none are damaged after years and years of use.

I'll likely acquire many more pieces in 1095, and be very happy with them.
 
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1095 is an old, simple steel that's fairly easy to heat treat, is plenty tough enough and resharpens easily.

It doesn't hold an edge particularly well and rusts fairly easily, but it's plenty adequate for many people, particularly for outdoor use where you're less likely to encounter lots of abrasive cutting media.

If I was planning to do lots of skinning or cutting cardboard I would want something that offered significantly better edge retention, but for a camp knife doing that I was mainly going to do fire prep, some food prep, whittling and other such things 1095 is a reliable option that's not too expensive.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
1095 is an old, simple steel that's fairly easy to heat treat, is plenty tough enough and resharpens easily.

It doesn't hold an edge particularly well and rusts fairly easily, but it's plenty adequate for many people, particularly for outdoor use where you're less likely to encounter lots of abrasive cutting media.

If I was planning to do lots of skinning or cutting cardboard I would want something that offered significantly better edge retention, but for a camp knife doing that I was mainly going to do fire prep, some food prep, whittling and other such things 1095 is a reliable option that's not too expensive.
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Well said, IM.

I used a Schrade Sharpfinger for years, and still do. I'm still fond of it, but you are right, if it was in S30V it would be magical... and $pendy... and more difficult to sharpen on the bottom of a coffee mug... but it'd be the new champion hands down for the edge retention alone.
 
2pacman said:
Hi guys !

I'd like to hear some opinions on 1095 steel because it is used in a lot of outdoors fixed blades. My problem is that it is used for very cheap knives up to very expensive so I don't know how to categorize it.

Pls tell me how does it perform or how does it compare to other known knife steels because I'm new in the fixed blade game.

I've heard often it's great bec it's easy to field sharpen but doesn't that mean it has bad edge retention? Isn't a pm-steel better for carving and such or is it only better in folders for light tasks?

Thx for your help

Kind regards!
Click to expand...

1095 is a reasonable steel.
Reasonably easy to sharpen
Holds an edge reasonably well, all things considered.
Reasonably tough
Reasonably easy to fabricate

The cost of the blade steel is seldom a major factor in the cost of the knife.
What you are paying for in the more expensive 1095 knives is the design plus the fit & finish.
Pretty much anyone can make something with a sharp edge.
Making a something that has good balance and feel requires considerably more ability.
 
It seems like there's a pretty broad consensus on BF that 1095 is a good proven steel. Not the best of all the properties compared to the modern super steels, but if well heat treated, its toughness is way beyond most of the stainless steels, edge retention is "good enough", and cutting and chopping performance on a well ground/sharpened blade can be just as good as any super steel. And the cost-to-value ratio is so compelling, that even in this era with all the fancy super steels coming out, more every year, people are still buying a lot of new carbon steel cutting tools. Especially in the larger blades, and chopping tools including machetes. That includes me, I'm not stuck in the past, and am more than willing and interested to buy and experiment with new modern super steels. But I still see the value in proven old-timers like 1095, and in fact I just recently bought another ESEE Junglas in 1095.

I see really 3 reasons--and 3 only--as to why people look beyond 1095 and similar simple carbon steels: they are far more rust-prone, you have to sharpen them more often, and they are heavy (some of the modern super steels are so tough you can literally make a thinner/lighter blade that is equally strong and cutting performance to a heavier 1095 or other simple carbon steel blade).

If the few ounces of extra weight on an already large knife doesn't bother you, and if you're capable of sharpening your 1095 knife in the field if you need to--which I think most of us are--then really the main annoyance with 1095 is the rust issue. There are easy approach for minimize the rust problem, it's just maintenance.
 
Velitrius said:
Well said, IM.

I used a Schrade Sharpfinger for years, and still do. I'm still fond of it, but you are right, if it was in S30V it would be magical... and $pendy... and more difficult to sharpen on the bottom of a coffee mug... but it'd be the new champion hands down for the edge retention alone.
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The Sharpfinger is a fantastic pattern. If I could get one in S30V I might well be tempted away from my folders and into fixed blade EDC.
 
Really good stuff. If you are looking to try it out and don't want to use a lot of money, try Schrade SCHF37(they also make a 5 inch blade version), and/or a Ontario field machete. Both are good examples of tough, cheap 1095 blades. IMO
The Schrade fixed blade is a little thick though. .25" I think. I usually prefer under .20". Just a heads up. Both a under 30 bucks each.
 
2pacman said:
Hi guys !

I'd like to hear some opinions on 1095 steel because it is used in a lot of outdoors fixed blades. My problem is that it is used for very cheap knives up to very expensive so I don't know how to categorize it.

Pls tell me how does it perform or how does it compare to other known knife steels because I'm new in the fixed blade game.

I've heard often it's great bec it's easy to field sharpen but doesn't that mean it has bad edge retention? Isn't a pm-steel better for carving and such or is it only better in folders for light tasks?

Thx for your help

Kind regards!
Click to expand...

If I had a real choice 1095 and M4 would be ALL I ever used. Fixed blades or folders.
Problem is M4 is rare but getting more available in special order knives.
Problem with 1095 is there seems to be two major categories of heat treating :

1. The western heat treat = oh my god it has to be soft and """durable"""" if it chips a little all the westerners will faint and pee their pants and say my knives are no good and I will starve as a knife manufacture.

2. The Japanese heat treat = seriously hard and able to hold an edge that is just frightening even for people used to handling very sharp knives. BUT if a person makes a mistake in use: hits a hard object by mistake, cuts something they shouldn't be cutting, drops the knife, uses a stupid surface to cut against (marble, bamboo, counter top, ceramic plate etc.) then the edge gets damaged but the knowledgeable person thinks "I did something stupid with this nice knife, now I have to pay the price and fix it/sharpen it".

Do you see ?
I'm not beyond buying a nice Japanese kitchen knife and cutting and grinding and drilling the blade to fit into a western pocket folder because of how much I like well heat treated 1095 or White Paper Steel as it is called in Japan.

I have a four inch kitchen knife sitting out right now on the cutting board, that has not been sharpened in about eight months, that is heavily patinaed right down to the very edge from water and food and I am positive that if I picked it up right now it would easily shave and in some parts of the edge, in the usable areas of the edge it would even whittle hair a little.

I am carful with it and use a softer plastic white cutting board.
For me that is PERFECTION.
For a work knife I could use the same edge and knife and just sharpen more often, every few days or use M4 and sharpen about every two weeks.

I have ALOT of other steel alloys but those two are really all I want.
S110V etc. yah they cut stuff and for a long time but are crude and inelegant in comparison. I balk when ever I use them or sharpen them because I won't have that super frightening edge very long and I really enjoy using that kind of edge for the work I do tending toward the more precise at home an at work.

The kind of edge that when touched to THE SIDE of a tomato sinks into the skin under just the very light weight of a small knife. I tried that today with it on the side of a grape. Very pleasing ! The kind of edge that can slice thick soft rubber tubing with a little oil on the blade and leave a shiny surface when wiped off with alcohol. Professional looking results. No fooling around.
 
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knarfeng said:
1095 is a reasonable steel.
Reasonably easy to sharpen
Holds an edge reasonably well, all things considered.
Reasonably tough
Reasonably easy to fabricate

The cost of the blade steel is seldom a major factor in the cost of the knife.
What you are paying for in the more expensive 1095 knives is the design plus the fit & finish.
Pretty much anyone can make something with a sharp edge.
Making a something that has good balance and feel requires considerably more ability.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
I dropped the mic for ya:)
 
I'm going to be trying a esee 6 soon. I must admit I haven't used anything in 1095 in a VERY long time that would constitute as knife like chores. I do own a USGI Ontario Machete which changed my entire outlook on expensive chopping blades..(them days are over for me)
It seems the older I get the more I've begun to look at old reliable steels like 1095.

Rust, boy do I hate that crap. But I'm also a guy who was raised by a hardcore Marine. I cut my teeth on the M1 Garand and was taught young to clean and oil your tools during the down time. I never heard my father complain about the edge holding of his beloved KA-BAR, rust etc.
 
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