1095 grain/carbide size?

Highly dependent on processing, prior thermal and mechanical. As with the last one, it could range from fairly large to no carbides, and the grains can range from 15 to 7 on the ASTM scale.
 
Much of today's 1095 is made from reprocessed steel, and
can have as much as .25 - .35% chrome. The only way to
know in to have an analysis done.
 
I'm wondering because I'm interested in the diving sparrow boreal bushcraft knife and I just want to know how fine the grain and carbide size is for 1095
 
Oh, well that's a much narrower question. Any idea on how its heat treated?
 
Nathan Akins said:
I'm wondering because I'm interested in the diving sparrow boreal bushcraft knife and I just want to know how fine the grain and carbide size is for 1095
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I just checked it out. Seems kind of expensive for 1095 steel. You could get an ESEE or TOPs for less.
 
It's a really nice looking knife: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/593471-Diving-Sparrow-Knife-Works-Boreal-Bushcraft

Boreal_01.jpg


I am curious about the question as well - are you worried about sharpening the knife or wear-resistance of the steel? Or are you just wondering if the knife in 1095 has a decent HT? 1095 is generally quite easy to sharpen with basic AlOx hones, certainly not a problem for diamond/ceramic, but 1095 by any HT isn't going to have much wear-resistance compared to modern high-carbide alloys, toughness will depend on HT... But probably more important to you than HT is edge geometry - do you know how thin /thick the edge is? Sharpening a thick edge takes longer, thinner edges are more fragile but MUCH better cutters - the performance advantage often outweighs the durability concerns unless you are pounding through really hard knots during your "bushcrafting".

What put you onto grain/carbide size concerns?
 
I agree with Chiral, edge geometry is most important. High quality ht allows edge-geometry closer to ideal, while poor ht necessitate a compromised working edge geometry.

Good std ht for 1095 would yield grain dia (8-11um); 2-3% cementite (iron carbide) sub 250nm dia and well distributed (i.e. avoid those with grossly aggregated at grain boundaries); RA (retained austenite) less than 1%. *note*: most 1095 outdoor knives on market have thick edge geometry (strength+toughness by bulk volume). otoh, if hard-use bushcraft knives have sub 0.02" edge thick; 15dps and 61+rc, then ht could be(no guarantee) very good.
 
Empty handed after a quick search. iirc 13c26/aebl grain size around 10 astm (~11um dia). Yes, good ht can bring gs to 11astm (8um). Gs is well within strike zone of 1095. Don't forget to consider toughness as well.
Nathan Akins said:
I'm just curious about grAin size. Always have been :)

I think I might ask for a finer steel like 13c26
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They can be very small. Smaller then 13c36

But it all depends on how the steel is processed.
 
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