carbon steel?

S

seniormcblade

Joined
Oct 15, 2010
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122
why is 1095 carbon steel so great?. its superior to any thing else ive used . including s30v. why is this true?.
 
good 1095 is great in the field, has small grain structure, easy to sharpen, not brittle. i really like the gec 1095 . if you want the ultimate 1095 get one from sniper bladeworks, will outcut about any alloy in the world.
dennis
 
seniormcblade said:
i agree on that carbon rawks..but what about the oxidation any suggestions.?
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keep a light coating of oil on your blades, they won't rust on you. You can also put a patina on the blade, i've heard that a good patina will also help prevent rust but that might be an old wives tale.
 
Every steel type is a balance of different attributes. No one steel will ever be best at everything.
If you like 1095, you may want to try CPM-3V.
 
freedoom said:
You can also put a patina on the blade, i've heard that a good patina will also help prevent rust but that might be an old wives tale.
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A patina on a carbon steel knife will protect it against red rust, wich is the kind you want to avoid! The patina itself is a form of rust, just not harmful to the steel.
 
I'll second the CPM 3V recommendation, I'm a big fan of 1095, and similar carbon steels, and the 3V has been extremely impressive. A little oil occasionally, along with regular use, and corrosion shouldn't be an issue. The performance gains over most of the stainless I've used seems worth the small amount of maintenance required
 
Thing is, CPM-3V is hard to find at a price that won't break your bank. I realize it's somewhat of a prerequisite for 3V to be in a huge chunk of a blade since it's more well suited as a chopper, but even the smaller knives from Tom Krein runs up to $200+.
 
I patina a good chunk of my carbon blades-in fact all of the naked ones-either with vinnegar or mustard. I use honing oil, silicone rags and mineral oil to prevent rust, especially durig storage or use in sand and around water. Usually one good coating a day in these environments is enough to keep the blade rust free as long as you dry it before you sheath it.
I love 1095 for a general purpose steel, but prefer L6 or 15N20 for slicing blades. 5160 dominates for rough use. I can't think of a situation where I'd rather use a stainless steel over a well heat treated high carbon steel.
 
Carbon rules for fixed blades. Corrosion resistance really doesnt matter as much for fixed blades, and if you keep them oiled it will not be an issue
 
M2, A2, O1, CPM D2. I'd have more if you elaborate on what you want a knife to do that 1095 does so well.
 
seniormcblade said:
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easy to sharpen, holds a edge, dont chip , basically a old hickory. i would like to try d-2. perhaps.
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I have not found Old Hickory to hold an edge even as well as 1055 carbon steel, but I'm sure there is some variability in a $6 knife. Oddly enough, after thinning the bevel to the point it would actually cut, mine chips as well.

Would you rather have a dent than a chip? If so, move to a softer steel, 440A, 1055, AUS-6, AUS-4, 420HC.

What kind of edge do you prefer?

On to the topic at hand. Try O1, 52100, 50100, maybe some harder 5160. CPM M4 should do all the above if properly ground for the uses. If left too thick, sharpening will be a chore. Same for D2. M2 is one of my all time favorites, but without good geometry and a thin edge, it won't win any speed sharpening contests.

Just so you know where I'm coming from, ease of sharpening is more knife specific than steel specific. Changes in geometry could have you removing 3-4 times as much steel from one knife to another, making it easy for 1095 to become very hard to sharpen. The same model in different steels is really where you'll notice the differences in steel, but that isn't very common. Try an ESEE vs. a TOPS. Both use 1095, but the TOPS edge is likely thicker and will require more metal removal. I'm speaking from pictures, not from trying them. TOPS has a reputation for very strong, thicker edges.

If you are talking about chipping from impact, like chopping or batoning, many steels have the ability to resist that better than 1095.

If you narrow what you want the knife to do, you can get steels that will out do 1095 in any category. As an all around steel, it gets more complicated.
 
me 2, im really not a big fan of 420hc.....regardless what buck says.they are so-so. but can you provide a opinion on a outkast in d-2/
 
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freedoom said:
keep a light coating of oil on your blades, they won't rust on you. You can also put a patina on the blade, i've heard that a good patina will also help prevent rust but that might be an old wives tale.
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I don't think it's a wives' tale. I stripped an Izula last year. The blade steel looked a little orange peeled or porous.

I forced a patina on it with a potato for a few hours then fine sanded it - leaving some blue highlights behind.

Next, I used a raw apple peel - rubbed it on the blade until it was wet and let it dry - repeated this for a couple days wipe on, let dry - several x's a day. I finally washed it off and it has a really nice patina.

To seal it, I treated it by heating it with a blow dryer on high setting and rubbing Miltec-1 into it. Let it sit for 8 hrs or so and heat it up again.

Did 2 more days of the Miltec-1 lube & heat then declared it done and it seems impervious to the elements, within reason.

It'll bead water if it gets wet and only requires a wipe on each side across the pant leg of my jeans and has never rusted or changed color either.

I reprofiled a broken tip (very small) to like new & sharpened a Camillus made, Korean war Ka-Bar for a friend (hard steel!) and to conceal the shiny marks of the fresh grind and the new tip which had to be done on the bottom, the top and sides - I did the apple peel patina for 3 days and perfectly matched the gray natural patina it came to me with.

Sorry for the long post. :)
 
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