Grain in 1095?

[blgoode]

Breaking and testing is a great whay to read the etch. You can etch the blade studdy the surface, then break the blade and study the cross section. Very usefull!

 

[AKA Knife Knut]

It could be carbides that don't go all the way into solution. 1084 is a euctid(sp?) steel, meaning the amount of carbon in it is perfectly balanced and will all go into solution as soon as it hits critical. Since 1095 has extra carbon, it needs a slightly higher temp and a short amount of soak time to fully disolve the extra carbon. If you're not disolving it all then you have extra carbides floating around in there, which with light sanding and etching can become visible.

I am not even a maker, and am only a wannabe metalurgist, but this is what I was thinking before I read this post.