1095,O1 and A2 ?

pitdog

pitdog

Joined
Apr 13, 2007
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I know these steels are all about even if given a good heat treat but what are you experiences of the pro's and con's of each ?
I have only had knives in 1095 and so I'm not all that familiar with A2 and O1 !!!
 
I may be incorrent but i thought that for bushcraft type knives people generally wanted A2, O1 then 1095 in that order.
But as i said i may be incorrect
 
I have only had two knives in A-2. Didn't care much for them. I like 01 and have quite a few of those. I have a little more trouble sharpening 01 than I do 1095 although it's not bad. I think when all is said and done, I could live with everything in 1095.
 
I have 2 in 1095 and 4 in O1. Can't really tell the difference between the steels as their differing geometries make such comparisons difficult. I've read posts where either one or the other has been considered better at corrosion resistance. Again, among the variation in the knives and under different circumstances I can't tell a difference. I've had my one of my 1095's be very resistant to rust with a mild patina and another one want to pit before you could clean the blade on your dirty shirt. Same thing with the O1.

When it comes to sharpening - both O1 and 1095 seem easy to deal with. I find they are similar in character to sharpen as Buck's 420 HC (Pitdog this reference is for you as you like them' Buck's also). Certainly, O1, 1095 and Buck's 420 HC is a dream to sharpen in contrast to 440C - at least in my experience.
 
How about adding this to the question.

If you had your choice between two identical knives, one being in 1095 and one in 0-1, is 0-1 that much better to justify paying more for it? Or would you choose to spend less money on the 1095 knife?
 
stingray4540 said:
How about adding this to the question.

If you had your choice between two identical knives, one being in 1095 and one in 0-1, is 0-1 that much better to justify paying more for it? Or would you choose to spend less money on the 1095 knife?
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No difference IMO given similar trust in the maker...
 
I don't notice a difference.

I put a good edge on them when I get them (I find the original grind either reduces or speeds up this process more than the material), and part of my unpacking process when I get back is to touch up the edge. They all touch up the same.
 
1095 is a simple spring steel, while A-2 and O-1 are tool steels. A-2 and O-1 have added compounds in the steel mixture to increase wear resistance and increase toughness.
A stands for air cool, which means it hardens by heating up to critical, then allowing to air cool, while O means oil quench to harden. 1095 is a water quench steel. Out of the three, 1095 is the most shallow hardening. A-2 and O-1 take "soak" times in the forge to harden, while most data sheets give no "soak" time for 1095. Soak time give proper grain growth in the steel..
O-1 has more carbon in it than 1095. I have worked with 1095 and O-1 in the shop. O-1 is very tough! I took a 1/16th inch thick blade, bent it over 40 degrees in a vise and it sprang back to shape. As far as stain resistence they are all carbon steels, so they will rust.
Go to the web site for Admiral steel for the list of what is in each steel....

Mark
 
I have several A2 and two 1095 blades, and am currently putting an O1 EnZo blade to use. The A2 is a tad more difficult to sharpen, but even that might be subjective because all my A2s are convex Barkies, while the 1095s are both v-grind and the O1 is a Scandi grind.

The 1095 seems to be the easiest to sharpen and, like the A2, gets very sharp.

The A2 holds the edge noticeably better than either 1095 or O1, I can tell already with the O1.

I also think the A2 is more rust resistant ("resistant" being the operative word). EnZos O1 forms a patina almost immediately upon touching anything acidic, so I'm guessing it may form rust quicker than 1095.... that's a guess.

Of them all, I like them in this order: A2, 1095, O1, even though the jury is still a long way out on the O1.
 
The only really noticeable difference I have noticed between the 3 is 1095 patinas fastest. As long as edge geometry and heat treat are good, either would be fine for me.
 
I'v never had an O-1 blade but I do have 1095 and A2, I greatly prefer A2, takes a better edge and holds it longer.
 
I prefer O1. It's edge retention seems to be better than 1095, and it's easier to sharpen than A2. I have no problems with corrosion, as I live in a dry climate, and clean my blades after use fairly religiously.
 
Sharpening is no longer a problem. If I get a tough one, I send it to siguy.
 
I have a Chris Reeve and several Barkies in A2 and in my experience you wouldn't even know that they are the same steel. The CR has very low wear resistance but can literally be sharpened by stropping on my jeans. The Barkies seem to hold their edge forever and can be sharpened quickly on DMT extra-fine diamond. I personally prefer performance like the Barkies but can imagine how others might well prefer CR's A2.
 
All great steels, but I lean slightly to A2 as I feel its a little more corrosion resistant.
 
Theonew's post really shows how heat treat affects things as much as the steel used.

I like A2 the best as it has the most performance of the 3 but at the cost of some sharpening ease. Still it will be nothing like sharpening the HCLE which is like really hard 440C. O1 is often used on bushcraft blades instead of A2 because it is a bit easier to sharpen and is much easier to use with a firesteel.

I really like all 3 steels so long as they are used in a knife that suits their characteristics and they are properly heat treated.

For example my Ontario pilots survival knife is 1095 and it is an ideal steel for it. It also makes a fantastic bushcraft blade. It has a pocket stone in the sheath and is designed for easy touch ups.


My soon to be arriving Skookum Bush Tool is available in either O1 or A2 with mne an A2 model because I want the best possible edge retention.

I think the CR knives are designed much like the Pilots survival knife where ease of sharpening is considered worth sacrificing a little edge holding as CR has different steels he uses when edge holding is more of a consideration like S30V.

I want the best edge holding possible even if they are insanely hard to sharpen like good 440C or the Swamp Rat 154 in the HCLE. I will do as good a job as possible on the edgepro at home and then carry a small DMT diamond pen sharpener in the field.
A2 is one of the steels that has both edge holding and toughness which are often mutually exclusive ,however it does not have as good as corrosion resistance as stainless.

In a way CR A2 knives are kind of a waste of A2 as O1 would work just as well as underhardened A2. I think that sometimes some companies use steels better suited to harder blades and then underharden them just to market the knife as having a better quality steel. You see that a lot on S30V or 154. If it is hardened to it's full potential those steels are very hard to sharpen but having them sells a lot of knives.
 
tonym said:
The only really noticeable difference I have noticed between the 3 is 1095 patinas fastest. As long as edge geometry and heat treat are good, either would be fine for me.
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same here... i have several knives in 1095, A2 and O1... i like them all.. :)
 
I prefer A2 (especially in barkies) because it takes an edge easily with diamond sharpeners (DMT) and holds it for a long time. I've also got one blade in 52100 that has really nice edge holding characteristics.
 
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