1095 steel: on paper vs. in practice

What about real world rust resistance for 1095? I know being a low chromium high carbon steel it is not stainless, but, I have heard that if reasonably cared for such as cleaning lightly the brushed satin finished 1095 is not going to corrode and pit badly. Is that or not from all your experiences?
 
KnifeMakeReplicate said:
What about real world rust resistance for 1095? I know being a low chromium high carbon steel it is not stainless, but, I have heard that if reasonably cared for such as cleaning lightly the brushed satin finished 1095 is not going to corrode and pit badly. Is that or not from all your experiences?
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IME, a little maintenance goes a long way. I’ve never had an issue with 1095 pitting or corroding. Just some minor rust if I neglected it for too long.
 
KnifeMakeReplicate said:
What about real world rust resistance for 1095? I know being a low chromium high carbon steel it is not stainless, but, I have heard that if reasonably cared for such as cleaning lightly the brushed satin finished 1095 is not going to corrode and pit badly. Is that or not from all your experiences?
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Any cleaning goes along way.
Polished steel tends to rust less easily, and the better the polish the more resistance to rust.
 
Regarding 15N20, a few months ago when talking to Trevor from Peters Heat Treating about an order I had with them to heat treat some AEB-L, 3V, and 15N20 blanks, I suggested to him that he should try 15N20 himself, also at 61 RC. I finally remembered to ask him today about a test he did with it.

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Matthew Gregory said:
The individual above with a 15n20 chef knife that’s too soft and rolls in use is precisely what we’re talking about. It’s not the steel, it’s not the geometry- it’s the heat treat. It 100% changes the properties being discussed for that steel.
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Sure - but this is, again, just an anecdote about a particular knife.

It would be silly to make claims about a steel based on a single example of a knife that you own.

However it’s perfectly reasonable to discuss the comparative strengths and weaknesses of various steels.

To do this successfully, I think it’s helpful to AVOID anecdotal evidence, and instead look to the many published scientific studies about the specific properties of these steels.

If we can assume that the geometry and hardness is the same between two knives, and that each of them has been heat treated optimally, this allows us to talk about the similarities and differences between ONLY the steels, and ignore those other variables.

None of us are in a position to thoroughly test ALL knife steels, but Larrin and many other experts/manufacturers have tested most of them, and I tend to think that their results are close to correct or they would be challenged/updated.

I’m going to bet on the charts over anecdotal evidence every time, even though occasionally I’ll be wrong.

In this case, although I don’t own or use any 1095 knives, I feel fairly confident saying that it’s less-tough (all other things being equal) than 5160 - based on published data. Would you agree with that assertion?
 
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What’s that again, please clear your throat
 
We should probably stop or Blues will throw us off the boat.
 
Whatever the steel, just about any well made knife is tough enough for me. I just need a knife to wrend things. I have never came across someone in the wild who is breaking knives like Joe X and if I did I would consider them an idiot who has little respect for and who does not know how to make the best use of their tools.

N2s
 
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scdub said:
Sure - but this is, again, just an anecdote about a particular knife.

It would be silly to make claims about a steel based on a single example of a knife that you own.

However it’s perfectly reasonable to discuss the comparative strengths and weaknesses of various steels.

To do this successfully, I think it’s helpful to AVOID anecdotal evidence, and instead look to the many published scientific studies about the specific properties of these steels.

If we can assume that the geometry and hardness is the same between two knives, and that each of them has been heat treated optimally, this allows us to talk about the similarities and differences between ONLY the steels, and ignore those other variables.

None of us are in a position to thoroughly test ALL knife steels, but Larrin and many other experts/manufacturers have tested most of them, and I tend to think that their results are close to correct or they would be challenged/updated.

I’m going to bet on the charts over anecdotal evidence every time, even though occasionally I’ll be wrong.

In this case, although I don’t own or use any 1095 knives, I feel fairly confident saying that it’s less-tough (all other things being equal) than 5160 - based on published data. Would you agree with that assertion?
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For the most part, I would agree with that assertion, however this thread is littered with examples of how even that logic is thrown to the wind. Also, I haven’t witnessed a single example of two otherwise identical knives with either different hardnesses or alloys being discussed here. The gist has been ‘are you a 1095 fan, or not?’. I guess if people want to just discuss in circles, I should leave them to it, which is the advice I’m going to take here, myself. 👍
 
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