CRA 1095 from Admiral Steel

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cschulte88

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Jun 22, 2016
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Hello, I am a first time knife maker. I've bought some steel from admiral steel company online and its called CRA 1095. Before I bought it I read some forums saying it was good beginner steel. I've already cut the blade out and filed it down to a good shape. I am in the process of drill holes for the pins. I just recently ran into a hick-up after talking to a tool maker at my job who works with metal as his profession. He said I should never have bought CRA 1095 because you can not harden it to hold an edge without a carbonizer. I am kind of freaking out because I am on a budget and I spent $50 on this steel. What should I do? Is this guy I work with correct or is he blowing hot air? He says one thing and all the forums are saying the opposite. Thank you in advance for any advice!
 
nighthaxan said:
If it's 1095, it's hardening steel. He was probably thinking of cold rolled mild steel.
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It is 1095 CRA from Admiral Steel website. He keeps saying that cold rolled steel cant be hardened because it doesnt have enough carbin in it. He pulled out a sheet he has that lists all the hardenable steels and says its not on that "list" he has. So I just had to walk away from him frustrated as heck because I feel like Ive made a mistake getting the 1095 steel.
 
1095 will certainly harden but it requires a faster quench than many steels. Something like water, brine, or a very fast oil.

The more interesting question is why he would say that. Is it confusion regarding the CRA label, or has he tried 1095 and had a bad experience from a slower quench than needed?
 
I think its because he is just hearing the term "cold rolled" and thinks it wont harden. Thank you all for clearing this up for me. He is someone who I believed was a reliable resource but it seems he is not that reliable. I am glad to hear that I can still harden it. I am about to hand drill my pin holes and start on the bevel. :)
 
It's a '10XX' steel, by definition: "The 10XX series of steel are simple carbon steels. They are called "simple" because they consist of a few elements."

It's a plain carbon steel with a .95% carbon content.........it will get harder than a Cadillac bumper!!!! ;)

On a different note and has been said above:

"1095: This is a simple carbon steel. Heat treating can be problematic. The time/temperature curve is very short. If heat treated correctly this steel makes good knives. I do not recommend this steel for beginning knifemakers because of the potential problems when heat treating."

In my VERY limited knifemaking career, I've found 5160 steel to the the best and most forgiving 'beginner' steel to use.
 
Dawkind said:
It's a '10XX' steel, by definition: "The 10XX series of steel are simple carbon steels. They are called "simple" because they consist of a few elements."

It's a plain carbon steel with a .95% carbon content.........it will get harder than a Cadillac bumper!!!! ;)

On a different note and has been said above:

"1095: This is a simple carbon steel. Heat treating can be problematic. The time/temperature curve is very short. If heat treated correctly this steel makes good knives. I do not recommend this steel for beginning knifemakers because of the potential problems when heat treating."

In my VERY limited knifemaking career, I've found 5160 steel to the the best and most forgiving 'beginner' steel to use.
Click to expand...

That is all very good news for me except the potential problems with heat treating. Since I have the steel and already cut my knife out what would you suggest for me to do with method of heat treating? I was thinking a simple torch/fire brick forge until its no longer magnetic plus a few minutes and then quenching it in a big tub/can of room temperature vegetable oil and making a stirring motion in the oil. Then testing hardness with dragging a file over the surface to make sure it wont scratch. I know this seems very caveman but its what I have to work with.
 
Dawkind said:
It's a '10XX' steel, by definition: "The 10XX series of steel are simple carbon steels. They are called "simple" because they consist of a few elements."

It's a plain carbon steel with a .95% carbon content.........it will get harder than a Cadillac bumper!!!! ;)

On a different note and has been said above:

"1095: This is a simple carbon steel. Heat treating can be problematic. The time/temperature curve is very short. If heat treated correctly this steel makes good knives. I do not recommend this steel for beginning knifemakers because of the potential problems when heat treating."

In my VERY limited knifemaking career, I've found 5160 steel to the the best and most forgiving 'beginner' steel to use.
Click to expand...
Is that 5160 a hot rolled or cold rolled? Is it annealed?

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I think for the kinds of equipment you mentioned that you have available, you will not get an optimal heat treatment out of your blade at home. All is not lost however. Many folks without expensive equipment send their knife blades out for a professional heat treatment. I have never done it but I don't think it costs too much (something like $12 a blade?).

For your next blade, choose a steel that is more forgiving with a simple home heat treatment. Steels like 1084, 5160, 1080, 80CrV2. Ideally you want a way to control the temperatures in your forge and be able to hold at a chosen temperature. But for a backyard type of heat treatment, a low alloy steel with a carbon content of around .77-.84% would give you the best results.

When quenching your blade, do not make swirling motions in the quenchant. If you are quenching tip down in a vertical motion, move the blade up and down like a piston. If you are quenching horizontally, move the blade back and forth from tip to butt in a sawing type motion. Do not move the blade side to side or you will likely get warps in the blade.
 
The "95" in 1095 is the Carbon content which is 0.95% give or take a few points. (it varies slightly from batch to batch). It only takes about 0.50% to make a decent blade so 1095 has more than enough Carbon to get hard.
If you're going to harden it yourself with a forge & magnet I suggest that you buy some 1084 from Aldo at NJsteelbaron. As far as what condition the steel needs to be in depends on whether you're gonna forge or do stock removal. If you're gonna forge it doesn't really matter since you'll be heating the steel to work it. If you're gonna do stock removal you should always buy annealed steel so you can drill, grind, file, etc..
 
cschulte88 said:
It is 1095 CRA from Admiral Steel website. He keeps saying that cold rolled steel cant be hardened because it doesnt have enough carbin in it. He pulled out a sheet he has that lists all the hardenable steels and says its not on that "list" he has. So I just had to walk away from him frustrated as heck because I feel like Ive made a mistake getting the 1095 steel.
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Did he say how much carbon was needed to harden?
 
I have a 96inch long piece of the 1095 so I think I will look into getting my first few knives professionally heat treated. What would be a good company to go with? Ive heard of Paul Bos. I

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cschulte88 said:
I have a 96inch long piece of the 1095 so I think I will look into getting my first few knives professionally heat treated. What would be a good company to go with? Ive heard of Paul Bos. I

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Peter's heat treat and tru grit are two more options
 
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