Coldsteel 1090 or AISI 1080

J

jc862

Joined
Apr 12, 2020
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25
I’ve just bought a Coldsteel Wildwest Bowie-advertised as 1090 carbon steel. The label says AISI 1080 though, so can anyone explain this please?
Many thanks!
JC.
 
Speculation only, but it has been seen in the past a manufacturer will make a material change and the ad copy can take a long time to catch up. Sometimes a very long time (years!) even on the makers own web page. Perhaps that happened here? I would tend to believe the packaging, but that is still no guarantee.
 
With there being all sorts of pandemic related shortages and delays on raw materials for production facilities, I could see them, (the CS producer in India), having run out of one or more flavors of raw steel.
If that occurred, I could see CS giving that producer the nod for them to use something somewhat comparable. With heat treating done properly on either steel, the 1090 would offer a slight edge retention, while the 1080 would offer a slight advantage in toughness. For a big blade as is being discussed here, I think a compromise in using the slightly tougher steel, may be more of a good thing than not 👍😊👍

Companies do usually stipulate somewhere that their specifications may change without notice. With yearly catalogs being done once per year, I'm sure such things can and do happen.

Btw, the consensus seems to be that Windlass Steelcrafts is likely the supplier to Cold Steel for much, (if not all), of their India sourced large blade knives and swords. These items are hand forged, literally using the old school hammer & anvil method for producing their blades. Windlass Steelcrafts is known for commonly using the 1055 to 1095 range of carbon steel for the forging of their blades.

 
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Thanks again for explaining.
I’ve just been on their website and they have some very good looking historic blades on there. I’m not sure if the Wild West blade is handforged- the angle on the bevel looks too slight, and and the blade shape too uniform, but the handle must be handmade and everything is done to such a high standard including the leather sheathe that I’m an instant fan of it.
As for the steel, it sounds like it’s appropriate for the blade size. So would more toughness mean less chance of edge chipping?

JC
 
jc862 said:
Thanks again for explaining.
I’ve just been on their website and they have some very good looking historic blades on there. I’m not sure if the Wild West blade is handforged- the angle on the bevel looks too slight, and and the blade shape too uniform, but the handle must be handmade and everything is done to such a high standard including the leather sheathe that I’m an instant fan of it.
As for the steel, it sounds like it’s appropriate for the blade size. So would more toughness mean less chance of edge chipping?

JC
Click to expand...
Yes, with heat treating being done correctly on both steels, the 1080 will likely lose it's sharpness a little sooner than it's 1090 counterpart, but would likely be a little less prone to breaking than the 1090. They are not too far off from one another, but, yes, the 1080 would likely be a little less prone to chipping than the 1090 counterpart.
The 1080 steel is very close in it's ingredients to Japanese SK-5 steel.

I believe that the differences between 1080 and 1090 are pretty small on paper, and also very likely in real life use scenarios.

This is my Cold Steel Cinquedea. I believe the paperwork in the box it came in, had it as being made of 1065 carbon steel.
This would make it even more prone to losing it's edge faster than the other two steels we've discussed, but the 1065 is tougher than those two steels, (so less likely to break when compared to those other two).

I believe they knocked it out of the park with this offering... Just an awesome piece for the money 👍😊👍

 
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That’s an absolute beast- I didn’t even know they made those. It looks heavy but knowing Cold Steel, they probably found a way to balance it.
By the way, I’ve just watched that video on Windlass Steels, and it’s like you said- they really are the real deal. Reminds of the khukuri houses in the way they hand-forge. (don’t know how to include a picture of it).
 
jc862 said:
That’s an absolute beast- I didn’t even know they made those. It looks heavy but knowing Cold Steel, they probably found a way to balance it.
By the way, I’ve just watched that video on Windlass Steels, and it’s like you said- they really are the real deal. Reminds of the khukuri houses in the way they hand-forge. (don’t know how to include a picture of it).
Click to expand...

Here is a CS video on the Cinquedea 😊
 
jc862 said:
Nice- it’s got some serious cutting power.
Click to expand...
Seems so, but I just like buying these big ole cool knives to add and display in my collection 😁

Here is the CS Cinquedea alongside one of my CS 1917 Frontier Bowie knives.
The Cinquedea has some size to it, including length, but still is in the realm of being a very large dagger, rather than a short sword.

While Cold Steel is known for their real/functional weapons, some, like the Cinquedea, display very well! 👍😊👍


 
Yes- the Cinquedea has a very classic look about it- a bit like my 11" Bowie from Khurkuri House Intl, but in a different way. I wish I could insert the picture in here. The 1917 is a classic in a different way- just a big bad war Bowie.
 
jc862 said:
Yes- the Cinquedea has a very classic look about it- a bit like my 11" Bowie from Khurkuri House Intl, but in a different way. I wish I could insert the picture in here. The 1917 is a classic in a different way- just a big bad war Bowie.
Click to expand...
I use the following site to upload pics and share them here and elsewhere...

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