Steel Question

[Confederate]

Just curious regarding some of the steels I've seen advertised in Cold Steel catalogs.

First, what's the difference between Carbon V and SK-5? Cold Steel's Carbon V was widely regarded as a very decent steel, but when Camillus went out of business, CS no longer could produce it. I'm also curious as to how 1095 steel compares with SK-5. There are many decent knives made with 1095, one of my favorites being the Ka-Bar Large Heavy Bowie.

Thanks!

 

[Hombre Secreto]

According to Cold Steel's FAQ, SK-5 is a Japanese equivalent to American 1080.

http://www.coldsteel.com/faqs.html

 

[Gator97]

...I'm also curious as to how 1095 steel compares with SK-5...
Thanks!

There you go - 1095 vs SK5 vs. Carbon V steel composition comparison.
The rest depends on the HT and knife design.

 

[knarfeng]

Just curious regarding some of the steels I've seen advertised in Cold Steel catalogs.

First, what's the difference between Carbon V and SK-5? Cold Steel's Carbon V was widely regarded as a very decent steel, but when Camillus went out of business, CS no longer could produce it. I'm also curious as to how 1095 steel compares with SK-5. There are many decent knives made with 1095, one of my favorites being the Ka-Bar Large Heavy Bowie.

Thanks!

Of the alloys commonly available today, Carbon V is most similar to KaBar's 1095 Cro Van.

I cannot give you a comparison between SK-5 and 1095, because I've not tried the SK-5. If both were heat treated to the same hardness, I might suppose the 1095 would hold an edge a bit longer and the SK-5 be a bit tougher. But that's a guess with no hands-on experience.