1095 in knives:hot-rolled or cold-rolled?

[Mr .44 Spl]

I have a buddy who's thinking of trying his hand at knife making, and he had a questions about what material to use. I suggested 1095, and he asked if he should use hot-rolled or cold-rolled. So which one is used by knife makers? And why?

 

[WalterDavis]

I don't think there's a difference in the steel itself, but if he's looking at someplace like Admiral Steel, the difference is in the last word-"cold rolled, annealed". The annealed steel is ready to grind-it's in a softer state than the HR stuff. However, if he's forging the blade, then the HR stuff is good, since he would need to anneal it anyway.

There's a ton of good info in the "Shoptalk" forum here, including a sticky thread entitled "Newbies, good info here" that should spread some more light on the matter:thumbup: