CRA 1095 vs HR 1095?

I

ibanezplayer470

Joined
Dec 21, 2009
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I'm looking at the admiral steel website (admiralstee.com/shop) and they have 2 types of 1095 steel... CRA 1095 and HR 1095. the prices are pretty close. the description for HR 1095 says "This is a hot rolled as rolled product(not annealed). These items are sheared from sheet/plate." the description for the CRA 1095 just says that it is sheared from sheet/plate... whats the effective difference between the two? and is this a good place to buy steel from?

thanks!
 
Hot Rolled has more scale and is not annealed,if your forging this is ok.Cold Rolled Annealed is cold rolled and has less scale and the annealing will make it easier to grind and drill if you are doing stock removal.
Stan
 
HR= Hot Rolled, CRA=Cold Rolled Annealed. CRA has a nice bright smooth finish and is much easier to drill, machine, & grind. HR comes as it is right off the roller, it will have mill scale and be harder to work. Unless you have a way to anneal it you are much better off with CRA. I use CRA 1095 from admiral and in my opinion it is good steel.
 
hmm... looks like CRA will be the ticket... let me know if this plan of action sounds about right:
1) get the steel
2) cut out the shape of the knife
3)file/grind down the bevel, drill holes, sand
4)heat treat to medium red in a charcoal grill
5)temper in an oven
6) do all the finishing stuff
7) sheath

anything im leaving out?

I'm new to knife making, so im trying to make sure i have an idea of everything that needs done to make a blade.
 
ibanezplayer470 said:
hmm... looks like CRA will be the ticket... let me know if this plan of action sounds about right:
1) get the steel
2) cut out the shape of the knife
3)file/grind down the bevel, drill holes, sand
4)heat treat to medium red in a charcoal grill--check for non-magnetic
5)temper in an oven
5.5) Put handles on
6) do all the finishing stuff
7) sheath
8) Sharpen

anything im leaving out?

I'm new to knife making, so im trying to make sure i have an idea of everything that needs done to make a blade.
Click to expand...

You're mostly there. . .
 
My first order from Admiral was all 1095; some of the CRA and some HR, it all looked exactly the same, no scale on any of it. Certain sizes they only have CRA Listed as being available so I guess if you want those sizes then you need CRA.
 
I'm glad you asked this because I was wondering if the difference was just annealing and a lack of scale?

The other thing I was wondering is if one was flatter than the other? Making steel flat by hand sucks. A disc sander is definitely in order.

Not to H/J the thread more, but is it preferable to just wait until after HT to sand flat? I'm currently doing it before HT.
 
69_knives said:
My first order from Admiral was all 1095; some of the CRA and some HR, it all looked exactly the same, no scale on any of it. Certain sizes they only have CRA Listed as being available so I guess if you want those sizes then you need CRA.
Click to expand...

That's what I've heard others say too, that there is hardly any difference between their CRA and HR.
 
so if there was a certain thickness that was available in HR but not CRA, say, .125 inches, then I would be perfectly fine with the HR?
 
just remember when you are heat treating that you get a nice even red across the whole blade and quench it in warm canolia oil or bacon grease
 
The expected hardness difference, hot rolled as is, rockwell 28-32, cold rolled annealed, rockwell 6-8, I have purchased both and tested them side by side and I really cant see much difference, both are sheared from plate stock so the edges are rolled slightly, cold rolled has a smoother finish, the hot rolled had no noticeable scale, both are good stuff

I just noticed this post is 4 years old LOL... my info is up to date ;0)
 
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smokeyforgeblades said:
just remember when you are heat treating that you get a nice even red across the whole blade and quench it in warm canolia oil or bacon grease
Click to expand...

Bacon grease is for frying bacon, not quenching blades

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...0c-steel-in-home-oven?p=13475021#post13475021



http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?36460-Goddard-s-Goop&p=287629#post287629

Kevin R. Cashen said:
I agree as well, I have said before that Wayne’s book “The Wonder of Knifemaking” with its pages of excellent metallurgical data, should be required reading for any aspiring knifemaker. However, while Wayne is a person we can all respect, bacon grease is just bacon grease. While the craft of knifemaking has greatly benefited from the contributions of people like Wayne, it has also been held back by folks attaching personal feelings when methods or ideas could be improved on. I hope our community is mature enough to understand that we can point out better ideas without any disrespect to, or animosity for, individuals who did it another way.

I started the ball rolling with my levity, and it did snowball a bit, but I think I can speak for the other jokers in this thread when I say we did our best to have fun with old bacon grease in order to divert the focus away from any criticism of respected colleague. Our craft is growing and advancing with the times, and if we can’t improve on concepts without it being made blasphemy by unnecessary personalization then knifemaking would be sadly stagnated by dogma.

I think it is best to close this thread and end it with what we all have agreed upon and said, just in different ways- Wayne Goddard is a respected knifemaker that has contributed much to our craft, but there are many more practical and efficient ways for the original poster to quench his blades than trying to keep a large quantity of bacon grease on ha
Click to expand...
 
Bacon grease is extremely flammable! Old thread or not, dangerous information should be countered.
 
Bacon grease is also delicious! It really should only be used to quench farm fresh eggs. Make sure you heat it to around 145 or so for best results ;-)
 
smokeyforgeblades said:
just remember when you are heat treating that you get a nice even red across the whole blade and quench it in warm canolia oil or bacon grease
Click to expand...

This is why brand new 15 year olds should not post advice until they have learned how to make knives.

DO NOT USE BACON GREASE AS A QUENCHANT

Smokey, please read and learn all you can about knifemaking. Post threads on your projects and get advice from those who have made knives for a long time. But, avoid giving advice until you have the experience to know good advice from bad advice.
 
Ibanez,
A charcoal grill by itself may not get the blade hot enough for HT. I would test it out before trying it with your blade. Take a piece of steel bar about the size of your knife and put it on the grill. Heat it until it won't stick to a magnet any more, and then continue to heat it until it is about one shade of red brighter than it was at non-magnetic. This is about 1450-1500F.
You can quench the blade in a gallon of 120-130F canola oil.

If just charcoal won't get the steel hot enough, you will have to find a way to make a blower that will supply air from below the charcoal. A hair dryer and some creative pipe/duct work has been used by many new makers to do this.
 
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