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Schrade's carbon steel
- Thread starter crbauhs
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Totally understandable protourist...this one has no sentimental value to me...yet...
It certainly will when it's done. I can't wait to see it. That will be knice!
Codger gave me mine and it's become a favorite of mine.
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Thanks for linking and posting this chart guys. It's like a look into yesteryear.
I must confess I'm surprised that they advertised their 1095 1 point higher than their D2 in Rockwell hardness?
1095 must have been one of their favorites.
-Bruce
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I can't find it right now but Phil Gibbs once posted about their "liquid heat treat" and I assume it was their secret recipe to the 1095 that I love so much.Thanks for linking and posting this chart guys. It's like a look into yesteryear.
I must confess I'm surprised that they advertised their 1095 1 point higher than their D2 in Rockwell hardness?
1095 must have been one of their favorites.
-Bruce
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I dunno, but I have never heard of any problems with it. You would surely think someone would have made mention of it if there were.
The designers/engineers at the old Schrade USA company must have been pretty sharp. (Pardon the pun)
-Bruce
Really you folks are the best. I really like Ka-Bar's cro-van (particularly on their Becker line; I know a bit blasphemous on the traditional forum) which runs about 58 HRC, and the GEC runs about 58 HRC. I know the heat treat/tempering protocols are all computer controlled these days, you'd think both companies could take it up a couple ticks. Not that I'm unhappy with what I've got mind you, but why not?
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Might be a bit more brittle than Case's CV because all of my dad's Old Timer stockmen had a point broken on one blade or another. He was notorious for prying on stuff with the tips though. No bent ones, all broken. That doesn't lessen my love for the knife steel. My favorite fixed blade is a little finger.
Ed J
Ed J
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I disremember who, but one of the fellas who fusses with custom knives and blade steels once posted that one of the highest performing custom blades he ever tried was made of 1095 hardened to a 62.
Increasing hardness goes hand and hand with increasing brittleness, whether or not the process is computer controlled. Computers give greater uniformity. They don't change the fundamental properties. 1095 at 62 is not going to be a good chopping blade. But, I bet it sliced like demon fire.
Increasing hardness goes hand and hand with increasing brittleness, whether or not the process is computer controlled. Computers give greater uniformity. They don't change the fundamental properties. 1095 at 62 is not going to be a good chopping blade. But, I bet it sliced like demon fire.
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- Mar 28, 2001
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I have hundreds of knives, but my EDC the vast majority of the time is the old Schrade yellow trapper.
I have several of them, enough to last me for the rest of my days.
They just suit me about better than anything else, and I love the steel as well as the thin grinds.
I have several of them, enough to last me for the rest of my days.
They just suit me about better than anything else, and I love the steel as well as the thin grinds.
Agreed that 60HRC is probably contraindicated for a a big chopper ala BK9, but for a pocket knife... If D2 can work so well in a pocket knife, 1095 at 60 or 62 would also. Of course, I suppose then there would be complaints about how difficult they would be to sharpen; just like D2 and years ago Buck's 440C. Oh well...
And that is the combination of things that made the old Schrade Old Timers so great. Yes, good old 1095 was part of it, and the careful Schrade heat treat didn't hurt. But the Old Timers had a great full flat grind with the blade geometry falling all the way down to the edge. The things cut like an Opinel because of that. I think blade geometry is at least 50% of the equation when it comes to cutting.
I do think the Old Timers were a tad brittle. I saw a lot of Old Timers carried by guy who worked in the shop, and at least half of them had a point broken off one of the blades.
Carl.
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I've seen that before, but never seemed to be brand specific. Usually more due to the knife being used a a pry bar. Because of this I never thought of the blades as being brittle, just misused. I still see this happen to modern knives today.
-Bruce
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Regarding the 'brittleness' of Schrade's (USA) OT blades:
I have an older small stockman, likely '70s vintage (the 108OT that I posted in pics, earlier). I noticed early on, the clip blade has a little warp/bend to it near the tip. The blade is extremely thin, and my very cautious attempts at straightening it by laying the end of the blade flat on a hard surface and flexing it have proven futile. That blade has the most amazing 'springy' temper I've seen; it just springs back to 'home', with that same little bit of warp in it. Obviously, I have no desire to push it too far in atttempting to straighten it, so I've decided to accept it as is.
If really abused, I'm sure most blades tempered to higher RC would snap. But in the case of this particular knife, I've come to be truly impressed that Schrade seemed to find a perfect balance between toughness (for flexibility) and hardness (edge-holding). Given a choice, I like the edge-holding over toughness; so if a blade does happen to flirt a little more with brittleness in return for excellent edge retention, I'm willing to live with that, most of the time.
David
I have an older small stockman, likely '70s vintage (the 108OT that I posted in pics, earlier). I noticed early on, the clip blade has a little warp/bend to it near the tip. The blade is extremely thin, and my very cautious attempts at straightening it by laying the end of the blade flat on a hard surface and flexing it have proven futile. That blade has the most amazing 'springy' temper I've seen; it just springs back to 'home', with that same little bit of warp in it. Obviously, I have no desire to push it too far in atttempting to straighten it, so I've decided to accept it as is.
If really abused, I'm sure most blades tempered to higher RC would snap. But in the case of this particular knife, I've come to be truly impressed that Schrade seemed to find a perfect balance between toughness (for flexibility) and hardness (edge-holding). Given a choice, I like the edge-holding over toughness; so if a blade does happen to flirt a little more with brittleness in return for excellent edge retention, I'm willing to live with that, most of the time.
David
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Different alloys have different degrees of toughness at the same hardness. Just because one works at a given hardness says nothing about the performance of another.
No matter the hard 1095 gets, it won't develop chromium carbides the way 440C and D2 do and it won't be as hard to sharpen.
The mysteries of steel.(Conan reference there) I became a fan sadly too late. Dad always carried an Old Timer. As a kid I thought they were plain and unattractive. Well, since then I've seen the light! I've been picking them up here and there and been pocket carrying them. What a great knife for me. That 1095 just gets scary sharp when I rub it on a small pocket stone. Slices right through stretch film , cardboard... whatever. Out of all the Case brand, Buck, Puma and other bits and pieces I own, I think the "Old Timer" would be the one I hang on to if I had to ditch and run! Unsolicited advice? Get an old vintage Schrade with 1095. Use it.
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I bet you did. I know that I would have.
I am now the proud owner of this 804. I recently lost my 8OT and was going through withdrawals and a friend helped me out by sending this. I'm in love. No steel is as user friendly as Shrade's 1095.
That's a nice one Mack. Congrats...
My grandfather was a logger for 40 years. He was born in 1914. Growing up in a logging/ranching family, I never remember seeing anybody pull a Case knife out and use it. Could be they did, and I just didn't notice...
When he passed away almost 8 years ago, I got the few knives he had. All are Schrade Waldens, with the exception of one Imperial.
None have broken blades, but they have been used and sharpened.
One of the knives I have, is one that he used to teach me how to sharpen, on a old stone he had. The knives have scratches from the stone. He wasn't worried about a few scratches, he wanted it sharp, so he could use it...
I know in his last few years, he never used the knives. When I took them out of the box, they all had an edge that was beyond sharp.
I wonder if perhaps we see more Schrades with broken blades, because that is what the workin guys used ? I don't remember who told me, or if I read it somewhere, but the saying was, " Use Schrades. Collect Case knives "