Seems that 420HC is way better than 1095 according to the article at Knife Steel Nerds

[Boats]

I only have one 420HC knife, a Gerber LMF2. It is indeed very tough, and it gets sharp. I wouldn’t hesitate to get a Strongarm either. Nice to have a knife that can be actively neglected and stay relatively no worse for wear for it. Definitely a GHB/BOB candidate.

However, all my Buck 110 versions are BG-42, S30V or 5160. I like the edges I can get on either over the 420HC, and ultimate blade toughness in a folder isn’t a priority of mine, taking a keen edge (5160) and holding it (S30V & B-42) are.

Finally, all my 1095 knives are made by Kabar. Their 1095 Cro-Van is springier and just better than simple 1095 in my experience with other companies products. Whether in USMC Fighting/Utility configurations, or thinned out, such as on the USN Mk. 1 or my Becker BK-15 these blades in this steel just flat out work hard, with a high carbon content.

That said, my favorite carbon steel is 80CRV2, because it can be heat treated into the low 60s on hardness without crumbling the edge.

Last word. I find ”corrosion resistance” to be the last thing I look for in a blade unless it’s a dedicated salt water environment I want it in. (H1 from Spyderco is scratching that itch). Forcing a patina is easy, mostly effective against pitting corrosion, with a minimum amount of attention paid, and cosmetics don‘t matter to me.

 

[LimpCroissant]

I have one thing to add in here.

I think a lot of people, myself included until recently, look at the term "toughness" and think 'the ability to kind of bend rather than fracture' or being somewhat malleable. There is another way to look at toughness. That is the edges ability to resist rolls when coming in contact with something. So wear resistance is how much wear the edge can take before losing material. You're losing steel resulting in dulling. But what about rolls? Toughness is what keeps that edge keen and in its proper bevel shape. So toughness isn't just how much you can pry on a knife before it snaps or to keep it from chipping.

Also if you look at the charts while keeping this in mind it makes more sense.

Btw, this isn't my own theory, this is straight from the horse's mouth, Larrin.

 

[Billy The Blade]

Come on ... data matter !

I just can't trust the data based on calipers...
I can only trust 'in hand' data
BTB

 

[littleknife]

I have one thing to add in here.

I think a lot of people, myself included until recently, look at the term "toughness" and think 'the ability to kind of bend rather than fracture' or being somewhat malleable. There is another way to look at toughness. That is the edges ability to resist rolls when coming in contact with something. So wear resistance is how much wear the edge can take before losing material. You're losing steel resulting in dulling. But what about rolls? Toughness is what keeps that edge keen and in its proper bevel shape. So toughness isn't just how much you can pry on a knife before it snaps or to keep it from chipping.

Also if you look at the charts while keeping this in mind it makes more sense.

Btw, this isn't my own theory, this is straight from the horse's mouth, Larrin.

/\
This!

'Toughness' is a term used to convey several different concepts.

The toughness Larrin is talking about is the "edge toughness" when steels hardened to similar level and with similar edge geometry are subjected to abrasive wear or in other cases to impact to the edge.
That is why you can see choppers or cleavers made of cheaper stainless steel: they do work, until subjected to sudden lateral stress.

Another thing to consider is the grain size and uniformity in 1095 vs that of 420HC. Maybe the repeated impacts create stresses that dissipate differently depending on the microstructure, and microscopic failures or boundaries propagate differently until they reach a macroscopic size resulting in sudden failure (blade fracture).

When talking about toughness for outdoor knives, people usually think about the strength of the whole blade in the lateral dimension.
My guess is that the lateral toughness of a thick slab of 1095 is greater than that of 420HC, as attested by the resilience of 1095 blades during batoning.
Please correct me if I am wrong.