Better Steel for Camping/Surival Knife? D2 or 1095

Yeah well custom knives are different, they get hands on care that you dont get with mass production. Customs are guaranteed a good heat treat making any decent steel perform at its highest level. I love 1095 but if offered an ESEE or a custom Koster or something D2, Id take D2 everytime.
 
hkpistole said:
I know 1095 is a supurb steel , very popular around here.. Im hung up trying to decide between a Becker, Rat, Ranger or Esee, trying to get the best one with features i want. I know the esee is probably the best knife in most classes. the D2 steel interests me due to the toughness and edge retention, sorry if i have some redundant posts, just trying to make a good decision
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I haven't had a chance to play with one of the Ranger knives - either original or made by Ontario.
I have several Beckers, several ESEE's, and an Ontario TAK1 (RAT family) -- all of these have performed fine at every task i've used them for.
Personally, I really like the 4" blade and full sized handle on the TAK, although the TKC aftermarket scales on an ESEE4 make it nearly as comfortable in hand.
The only D2 blade i have is a kershaw Rake, and it does a great job at all the tasks I've used it for as well.

I would suggest you go with the knife that most appeals or feels best in hand, as in the 4 brands you mention, any of them should perform well. The biggest differences will be edge geometry & out of the box sharpness.
 
Thomas Linton said:
You know, some pretty famous and well-regarded knife makers use D2. Bob Dozier comes to mind. Perhaps Bob is making a mistake over and over as he turns out custom knives in D2 instead of 1095?
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well because Bod Dozier uses it then its a done deal.. just because someone uses one steel over the other exclusively doesn't mean they're making it right, nor does it mean because someones been 'doing' a trade for 20yrs mean its right? they could be doing it wrong all along and just getting by anyhow.. does BD forge his own steel?? doubt it, besides custom knives can still be 'custom' if they're made from krupp stainless can they not?? :D

beside we all know that something from the kitchen drawer will out perform all the before mentioned steel, krupp stainless baby !!!! all day long.. :D
 
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Yup. That would be Bob Dozier - just getting by. If he would just use 1095 instead D2, maybe his knives could actually "cut." Amazing how he keeps fooling A.G. and all those folks who buy his knives. Just like Mike Irie, Gene Ingram, Keith Murr . . . .
 
It is funny that people will defend the old steels like 1095 over the newer and better knife steels, even against the super steels like CPM-3V -:)
 
You cannot judge a blade steel based on a few examples of production knives. As great as ESEE is, they have a specific HT and hardness to their knives. Plenty of knife makers use 1095 on thinner knives, with a higher RC.
I don't judge 5160 based on an Ontario RD4, when my forged 5160 12" Culberson Bolok is far better at holding an edge. The geometry of the two is different, and the HT, purpose, and weight. It's like the two knives are made from different steels.
 
cricketdave said:
ok, i guess kabar should change their info then. to carbon v/50100b/0170-6c instead of the 1095 they have listed.

cricket
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nah, they're not exactly the same, but there is considerable overlap in the alloying.

as for the topic, doesn't matter. choose the knife you like, forget about the steel. and D2 has nothing on 1095 as far as toughness goes.
 
For mass produced knives generally; D2 is harder to sharpen but will hold a passable edge longer and is nearly stainless, 1095 is easier to sharpen and touch up and may take a finer edge but it will rust faster than D2, Neither should break chip or shatter during anything except outright abuse.
For custom knives; the skill of the maker determines how good the blade is.
For my daily users I like D2 (Kershaw Rake on the way) for my kitchen knives I like 1095 hard with no tempering for woodsbumming I like my HI khukuri's in 5160 (edge hardened)
 
Older knives made from 1095 have worked very well for many years. An awful lot of military issue knives were made from 1095 and are still in service today. I have a few and while they can rust they are easy to hone and pretty resistant to chipping and breaking. I understand that we now have a lot of high tech alloys to choose from that maybe hold an edge longer but 1095 it still pretty hard to beat for rough duty use.
 
D2 will cut for 4-ever and a day. If you want a knife that you can use and not stop to touch it up to keep a working edge, D2 is the steel for you. In my experience it doesn't take as a fine an edge as 1095. It is tough enough for just about anything you're going to do. I've never had a D2 blade chip and I've beat on mine like I do any other outdoor knife. It will take some effort to resharpen when it finally needs it. It responds much faster to diamonds, sandpaper techniques, or power sharpening than it does traditional sharpening media like natural or ceramic stones, sticks, etc. While not a stainless steel, it is one of the most corrosion resistant high carbon steels.

1095 takes an absolutely beautiful, fine edge. It holds it well enough too. You will have to occasionally touch it up to keep a good working edge. It's a clean basic steel that responds great to any sharpening media. It is a durable blade material that can take anything you throw at it. It will stain and rust much more readily than D2 will. Having said that, I've never had any issues with my 1095 blades.

In an every day carry blade that will get used a lot, D2 is a better choice. If you're working, you don't have to worry about it getting too dull for safe use.

When I'm out and about in the woods, I want a knife that I can touch up easily if needed. I'd rather stop and touch up than have a knife that I can't sharpen at all.

Worst case scenario, you can sharpen 1095 on a flat field stone. I wouldn't want to attempt that with D2.

1095 and other steels of the same type (1075, 1085, etc) are my favorites. They take and hold a great edge for a suitable amount of time, yet are extremely easy to resharpen. I'll strop on smaller blades on my leather wallet if I need to.
 
I prefer 1095 over D2, but if I am spending $150 on a 1095 knife, I'm getting a custom from one of the talented makers on this site before a production knife in the same steel.

I agree with this 110%. Nothing against ESEE at all, but for that kind of money or a bit more, I'll buy from a custom maker on here as well. ESEE fans love to preach about the warranty, but if I'm abusing a knife so badly that I need to use the warranty, I should be using a pry bar in the first place. If I was in a situation where such abuse saved my life or someone else's, I'd consider it money well spent. I wouldn't turn it in for warranty.
 
cramsey3006 said:
I prefer 1095 over D2, but if I am spending $150 on a 1095 knife, I'm getting a custom from one of the talented makers on this site before a production knife in the same steel.

I agree with this 110%. Nothing against ESEE at all, but for that kind of money or a bit more, I'll buy from a custom maker on here as well. ESEE fans love to preach about the warranty, but if I'm abusing a knife so badly that I need to use the warranty, I should be using a pry bar in the first place. If I was in a situation where such abuse saved my life or someone else's, I'd consider it money well spent. I wouldn't turn it in for warranty.
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you mean the kewl-aiders :D.. I think most of hype is a joke anymore, I'm getting ready to steak my life on a literal 'steak' knife at this point.. I'm leaning toward this philosophy as well, buy a custom from someone who actually takes pride in every single piece, and ACTUALLY make their own knife rather then just market it..
 
I would pick 1095 because D2 would be a bitch to sharpen in the field. Heck I have dome trouble at home. Much more do if you are using an improvised sharpening method.
 
TheLastDaze said:
you mean the kewl-aiders :D.. I think most of hype is a joke anymore, I'm getting ready to steak my life on a literal 'steak' knife at this point.. I'm leaning toward this philosophy as well, buy a custom from someone who actually takes pride in every single piece, and ACTUALLY make their own knife rather then just market it..
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I was trying to be....subtle. HAHA

I pissed of couple of them off a few months ago when I posted my cost of material from a retail supply catalog to make a knife like that. $20 worth of material, $10 for a heat treat, $20 for shipping costs and a several hours of my time to make one. I'm not a great grinder, but it would have been well enough to do the job. Would the knife have been better than an ESEE? No, but it wouldn't have been any worse looking after a day of hard using, LOL.

The material cost for a similar mass produced knife would be less.

I don't mean to be demeaning to RAT in any way. They offer a good product, but it's too much $$ in my eyes. Any time I'm contemplating spending more than $100 on a knife, I look at the maker's section now.

Less than $100 usually has Kabar, Kershaw, or Mora written on the box.
 
I am not going to pretend I am a steel genius but what I do know is that the most important thing is how comfortable the knife feels in your hand. Especially after prolonged use. The type of steel doesn't mean a damn thing if the knife doesn't act or feel more like an extension of your body instead of just being a knife you are holding.
 
I am a fan of both 1095 and D2.
BUT Why do some ppl act like D2 is always going to need sharpening in the field??? How much work can you actually do to significanty dull a D2 blade? (Heat-treatment aside)
I barely ever have to touch up my Dozier Wilderness and it gets used almost daily to clear brush, baton wood, etc.
That's the point: Sharpen the blade at home so you won't have to in the field. And when necessary, sharpening D2 is not as difficult as some make it out to be.
-Hunter
 
Not all D2 is the same; heat treatment and edge geometry, as well as the refinement of the cutting edge, make a huge difference.


Anyone who hasn't used Bob Dozier's D2 does NOT understand how good this steel can cut.


And when it comes to edge retention, Dozier's D2 is the benchmark I measure "supersteels" against, and few measure up.



Just one user's humble opinion.




Big Mike
 
Can i ask a question here without upsetting anybody for going slightly off topic of the two steels? I had a knife from a local maker once from dentretic? and another from cobalt? anyways, both cut very well, not that I used them extensively (one I only played with and ended up donating for an auction) and seemed to cut better than their edge felt. meaning that thumb test it felt same or not as sharp as some of my others, but in a cut the dentretic would cut great. I was told this was due to the grains being misaligned?

What I'm wondering is, was this steel good? if so, how come I never see anybody use it? (I know he said something about the cobalt being hell on belts).

Thanks.

and by the way, for every top custom knife maker using one of these steel, isn't there another one using the other? How can one be righter than the other? wouldn't it all just come down to what that person has personally decided is best for their designs and customers?

Red
 
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