1095 steel is the knife equivalent to a cast iron frying pan...

CanadaKnifeGuy

CanadaKnifeGuy

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Jan 27, 2019
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To many, carbon steel knives like 1095 are ancient, archaic, primitive (literally 1000'sof years old) and outdated by modern technological innovations, materials and processes.

These same people cook with aluminum cookware (linked to Alzheimer's) and use Teflon / PTFE coatings (which when heated up high will kill your parakeet) and once scratched are dangerous and useless / disposable.

I think there is a renaissance for these time-tested materials of ourograndparent youth, that have unique properties that in many ways exceed those of the "modern improvements" that so many clamour over.

Simple and effective is good. :thumbsup:

Anyone else agree and see a correlation?
 
I can’t stand to see the knives left in the sink either. Lots of people don’t know how to care for quality so our society is losing some of the better things in life.
Lets go back to the old days, when everything in this world was great, and it was paid for.
I think when we made our knives and built our houses and the furniture in them, we appreciated life more. And respected what we had and respected each other more.
I Love my carbon steel kitchen knives.
But I can’t let my family members leave them in the sink, I take them and wash them right away.:D
Same with the cast iron. They want to leave them in the sink!!
Also now the old cast iron is collectible and worth a fortune. Wagner ware, Griswold!! And companies like that went out of business because they weren’t supported proper.
 
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1095 is like the grandpa steel. He’s old, and he walks with a cane, but if you piss him off he’ll still whoop your ass into next week. I don’t have anything bad to say about the steel, but I will add that they’re legitimately better steels out there, especially the newer carbon steels. I carry a lot of 1095 because of traditional knives as well as a good bulk of my fixed blades, but if some genie popped out of my beer bottle and gave me the option to change all of my 1095 into CPM CruWear, I’d do that in a heartbeat.
 
I am total steel geek. I own knives in almost 40 different steels. Some of those are the highest alloy steels available today.

That said, I love almost all steels. The 420j and 440a class I dislike. From 1095 and 440C all the way up to S110V and Maxamet they all have applications that suit them.

On my journey as a steel geek I have noticed that steel choice has become one of the biggest focuses of the knife world. I think a lot of this has to do with needing to percieve something as "premium". I have come to rank my priorities as design first, geometry second, heat treat third and steel fourth. Ultimately the first two are my priorities and then the heat treat and steel choice should match the application/design.

Beckers are an excellent application for 1095CV. It is affordable, durable, takes a great edge and is easy to sharpen in the field. They simply do their jobs well.
 
Very well said.

Sharpens fairly easily, but holds an edge well.
If you keep in clean and cared for when not using it, it will outlast you.
And it develops that nice patina.
Just like cast iron.

Over the last several years I have been picking up the older Schrade, Old Timer knives, mostly folders, which used mostly 1095, I am told.
As a kid I saw them (and Case) in every hardware store, feed store, etc. near where I lived.
Because I was short on spending money then, and didn't appreciate that they would be gone someday, I didn't get more back then.
So I look for them now, as users, and though I pay a bit more then they went for back then, I think they are still pretty well priced.

Still hard to believe how well made a knife they were/are, at the price they fetched (probably contributed to the company folding).

I appreciate a lot of different steels, but, as others have said, 1095 just works.

Also if you are a maker, 1095 can yield a nice hamon, and when hand polished up to a fine shine, does not corrode that easily at all.

(I will admit, although I own/use cast iron mostly, Griswald, Wagner, Lodge and Le Crueset, I do have a few triple-wall stainless commercial sauce-pans, mostly because it is tougher to find cast iron in that shape. And when I car camp, yes, but when I am backpacking, I don't much carry the cast iron anymore;).)

Brome
 
CanadaKnifeGuy said:
To many, carbon steel knives like 1095 are ancient, archaic, primitive (literally 1000'sof years old) and outdated by modern technological innovations, materials and processes.

These same people cook with aluminum cookware (linked to Alzheimer's) and use Teflon / PTFE coatings (which when heated up high will kill your parakeet) and once scratched are dangerous and useless / disposable.

I think there is a renaissance for these time-tested materials of ourograndparent youth, that have unique properties that in many ways exceed those of the "modern improvements" that so many clamour over.

Simple and effective is good. :thumbsup:

Anyone else agree and see a correlation?
Click to expand...

I think certain "archaic" tools survive to modern times because they are the best of their peers, 1095 and cast iron are still around because they were the best and have survived because of it. the Colt M1911 and Browning M2 HMG are a couple other ancient classics that are still around and useful today. I don't believe the best from 100 years ago is equal to the best of modern times, the only issue is that the best from modern times is not known as it is still being figured out. Cast iron at one point was a newfangled "fancy" invention that was probably looked upon negatively, I'm sure the M1911 and M2 were considered fancy and new and not as good as the classics around at that time. 1095 is known to be a good steel, but there are plenty better steels out there right now that are substantially superior but have yet to prove themselves.

This is not directed at you, don't worry, but I'm not a fan of the dismissive attitude that often shows up when comparing all the new steels vs the absolute best of 100 years ago, I think it's most definitely fine to enjoy and use old materials because they work well as long as all newer materials aren't lumped into one category to be dismissed as inferior.
 
Agreed!!

I personally, can't stand the idea of a knife edge chipping or large carbides being torn out .

I'm OK with rolling.

Part of that is the material characteristics... And part is hardness / heat treat.

It's all what you value, for sure.

I value ease of sharpening, require the ability to get an amazingly sharp edge, decent retention, easy field sharpening and rolling over chipping .

This is probably why I like 1095cv (as seen in modern Beckers) and 12c27 stainless (as found in Mora's and opinels .

Not fancy. Functional .

Seems like practical, basic requirements over nice to have stuff.

Others demand stainless and others require better edge holding for a longer working sharpness.
 
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CanadaKnifeGuy said:
Agreed!!

I personally, can't stand the idea of a knife edge chipping or large carbides being torn out .

I'm OK with rolling.

Part of that is the material characteristics... And part is hardness / heat treat.

It's all what you value, for sure.

I value ease of sharpening, require the ability to get an amazingly sharp edge, decent retention, easy field sharpening and rolling over chipping .

This is probably why I like 1095cr (as seen in modern Beckers) and 12c27 stainless (as found in Mora's and opinels .

Not fancy. Functional .

Seems like practical, basic requirements over nice to have stuff.

Others demand stainless and others require better edge holding for a longer working sharpness.
Click to expand...
1095CV. :thumbsup:
 
I have often called my 7 and 15 “as reliable as an iron skillet”.
The just need a little cleanup bit of sharpening once in a while and a little oil and they will do what they are designed to do....over and over and over and over.....
 
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