1095 steel?

Quiet said:
I see that you haven't been back since Sunday (four days ago now), but hopefully you drop back by, because I'm curious about a couple of things:

1. What is your testing regiment that you're using in order to ascertain the HRC of all of these different steels?
2. What are you doing "on the ranch" that causes you to need to sharpen a knife in 1095 "six times a day"?

I'd appreciate some more info on these, thanks! :D
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I was wondering about this too. Maybe ranch work involves cutting hundreds of feet of sand paper? Maybe this ranch uses the sand paper instead of wire for fencing material, if so I wouldn't blame them. Cows can go right through fences you think would 100% stop them, so maybe the sandpaper chafes them so that they think twice next time? ;):Dlol
But seriously though, I cannot think of any job other than maybe a butcher where you would need to re-sharpen a knife 6 times a day.
 
Well since he hasn’t answered yet and the previous comment let me enlighten you. On a farm and ranch we have some very abrasive stuff. In the winter when snow is covering the grass we feed as many as 10 large round bales every day . The poly twine is tough stuff and it is full of abrasive sand and other nasty stuff on the hay as well . Each bale has about 60 wraps of twine x number of bales that are pulled in tight so you are cutting twine and hay using a push cut. Not only hay bales but feed sacks, rope, bags of minerals, plastic buckets, nylon ties and many other materials. So yes it is similar to cutting sand paper and requires a tough wear resistance steel.
 
Lesknife said:
Well since he hasn’t answered yet and the previous comment let me enlighten you. On a farm and ranch we have some very abrasive stuff. In the winter when snow is covering the grass we feed as many as 10 large round bales every day . The poly twine is tough stuff and it is full of abrasive sand and other nasty stuff on the hay as well . Each bale has about 60 wraps of twine x number of bales that are pulled in tight so you are cutting twine and hay using a push cut. Not only hay bales but feed sacks, rope, bags of minerals, plastic buckets, nylon ties and many other materials. So yes it is similar to cutting sand paper and requires a tough wear resistance steel.
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Very informative. What do knife and steel do you generally use under these conditions?
 
Lesknife said:
Well since he hasn’t answered yet and the previous comment let me enlighten you. On a farm and ranch we have some very abrasive stuff. In the winter when snow is covering the grass we feed as many as 10 large round bales every day . The poly twine is tough stuff and it is full of abrasive sand and other nasty stuff on the hay as well . Each bale has about 60 wraps of twine x number of bales that are pulled in tight so you are cutting twine and hay using a push cut. Not only hay bales but feed sacks, rope, bags of minerals, plastic buckets, nylon ties and many other materials. So yes it is similar to cutting sand paper and requires a tough wear resistance steel.
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All that sounds pretty tough. I wonder what people on farms used a hundred years ago? I'm guessing the richer farmers used 3V or Magnacut*.

Also, if you're cutting a bunch of plastic buckets every day, then maybe it's time to look at something a bit more sturdy than a knife.


* The joke being that clearly, work got done on farms back then without the aid of supersteels.
 
Quiet said:
All that sounds pretty tough. I wonder what people on farms used a hundred years ago? I'm guessing the richer farmers used 3V or Magnacut*.

Also, if you're cutting a bunch of plastic buckets every day, then maybe it's time to look at something a bit more sturdy than a knife.


* The joke being that clearly, work got done on farms back then without the aid of supersteels.
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I was thinking the same thing, but then thought that perhaps back then poly twine and plastic weren't the enemy, and it was something more "natural" that was an easier match for ordinary carbon steel.
 
Quiet said:
All that sounds pretty tough. I wonder what people on farms used a hundred years ago? I'm guessing the richer farmers used 3V or Magnacut*.

Also, if you're cutting a bunch of plastic buckets every day, then maybe it's time to look at something a bit more sturdy than a knife.


* The joke being that clearly, work got done on farms back then without the aid of supersteels.
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Back then they didn’t have poly twine or large round bales. The hay was usually hauled loose in a wagon, sled or barge and they tossed the hay with a pitch fork. Things are much different now and require some more better materials. When you work a full time job and operate a ranch you can’t waste time on the little stuff. Get it done as efficiently as possible.
 
Quiet said:
All that sounds pretty tough. I wonder what people on farms used a hundred years ago? I'm guessing the richer farmers used 3V or Magnacut*.

Also, if you're cutting a bunch of plastic buckets every day, then maybe it's time to look at something a bit more sturdy than a knife.


* The joke being that clearly, work got done on farms back then without the aid of supersteels.
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Your sarcasm fell flat as it’s very obvious you have no clue what you are talking about. Nice try tho.
 
Lesknife said:
Your sarcasm fell flat as it’s very obvious you have no clue what you are talking about. Nice try tho.
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Your feelings seem hurt. So, what I'm hearing is, two specific items have been added to the "Things a Rancher Needs to Cut" list, and that's why 1095 can't get it done (for some reason) in 2022. Got it.

But hey, good for you.

P.S. I have family who have been ranchers, and they made do. Guess they must not have had any poly-twine or hay bails laying around on the hundreds of acres they managed. Huh, learn something new every day.
 
Gramps said:
I was thinking the same thing, but then thought that perhaps back then poly twine and plastic weren't the enemy, and it was something more "natural" that was an easier match for ordinary carbon steel.
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Sisal Twine vs Poly Twine (Polypropylene) was used when I was a boy. The sisal cut easier than the poly of today, but still same issue of the sisal rope/twine becoming embedded with abrasives (sand, dirt, etc.) which are major cause of apex dulling & damage.
 
Quiet said:
Your feelings seem hurt. So, what I'm hearing is, two specific items have been added to the "Things a Rancher Needs to Cut" list, and that's why 1095 can't get it done (for some reason) in 2022. Got it.

But hey, good for you.

P.S. I have family who have been ranchers, and they made do. Guess they must not have had any poly-twine or hay bails laying around on the hundreds of acres they managed. Huh, learn something new every day.
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My feelings aren’t that fragile. You might try staying on topic and steer clear of smart talk. 100s of acers? We operate over 2000 and we are on the small side. We have had as many as 500 head of cows and that’s a small time in this reagion. Again you’re out of your element.
 
Lesknife said:
My feelings aren’t that fragile. You might try staying on topic and steer clear of smart talk. 100s of acers? We operate over 2000 and we are on the small side. We have had as many as 500 head of cows and that’s a small time in this reagion. Again you’re out of your element.
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Please let me know when you're done beating your chest. I'll wait. :)

Now, all you need to do is call me "son" or "boy", and the image you're attempting to portray will be complete.
 
Spey said:
Sisal Twine vs Poly Twine (Polypropylene) was used when I was a boy. The sisal cut easier than the poly of today, but still same issue of the sisal rope/twine becoming embedded with abrasives (sand, dirt, etc.) which are major cause of apex dulling & damage.
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So, in other words, you'd probably want to use something like carpet installers, and warehouse workers who work with cardboard all day use, and go with some type of box-cutter affair with replaceable blades?
 
I have known quite a few ranchers and none of them are knife nerds. Most of the time all they use is box cutters and the old beaters they keep in the truck. Some of them have nicer knives that they take hunting, but never for day jobs around the property.

That's not to say that ranchers are never knife nerds who use the best knives available, just to say that the job gets done with much worse steel than 1095.
 
Steel envy (or snobbery) was never an issue. 3V or 1095, both properly heat treated of course, will always get use in my hands. Never felt under knifed with 1095 with a good HT as opposed to 3V or some other super steel.
 
Quiet said:
So, in other words, you'd probably want to use something like carpet installers, and warehouse workers who work with cardboard all day use, and go with some type of box-cutter affair with replaceable blades?
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Yes, on the "like carpet installers" type knife.
No, on any box-cutter style with the break off a section type (these are simply disgusting IMO), personally like the Stanley 10-499 that allows quick blade changes from multiple hook-style designs to a straight edge Wharncliffe style blade.

When I was breaking hay bails on a daily basis, we typically used a linoleum knife with a large hook blade similar to link (cuts on the push in or the pull out), in a simple carbon steel that could be made sharp enough for the job by simply dragging a bevel on a piece of steel (similar to using a butchers steel or burnishing a card scraper).

Linoleum Knife
 
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