What differences between 0-1 and 1095 ?

hiwa

hiwa

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Jun 7, 2009
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I know these are both carbon tool steels, but are they very similar in performance, sharpening , maintenance, etc ?? Some makers offer both , so I would like to know the better choice ( if there is one.) They are both great steels though , but have only owned 1095 in Kabars and Ontario's. Thanks.
 
If you compare O1 vs. 1095 composition, then you'll see 1095 has Vanadium. Which should contribute to its better wear resistance.
Although that's just my guess based on composition.
Also, it does make difference who will make it, as in heat treatment. There's a few makers that take 1095 to 65-66HRC and it's gonna be very good for light cutting.
Dunno O1 upper limits though.
 
Thanks Gator97. Good link to the metal comps. As long as they're heat treated well , I guess I couldn't go wrong with either.
 
The upper limit for O1 in useful hardness is 64 HRc. At that hardness, it will hold an edge slightly better than 1095, due to small amounts of vanadium and tungsten carbides.

The main difference between the 2 is the hardenability, which probably doesnt make a difference to the end user. O1 can be safely and fully hardened with oil, where 1095 often will only fully harden in oil in very thin sections, less than 3/32, and maybe thinner if its not a very fast oil.

O1 has some elements added to give it better dimensionaly stability (again not usually a concern for end knife users), some control over grain growth, better hardening in thicker pieces, less drastic hardening by using medium or slow oils instead of fast oils or water/brine (1095), and better wear resistance. Also, O1 can be found an a bewildering variety of sizes and thicknesses, much more than I've found for 1095. If I had an oven and didnt want to use air hardening steel for whatever reason, O1 and 1095 would be my choices.
 
Gator97 said:
If you compare O1 vs. 1095 composition, then you'll see 1095 has Vanadium. Which should contribute to its better wear resistance.
Although that's just my guess based on composition.
Also, it does make difference who will make it, as in heat treatment. There's a few makers that take 1095 to 65-66HRC and it's gonna be very good for light cutting.
Dunno O1 upper limits though.
Click to expand...

No, 1095 is a pure carbon steel. It has no Vanadium.
O1 does have some Vanadium, which is what your chart actually shows.

A most impressive chart, BTW. Good job on that.
 
O-1 has that key ingriedient (Vanadium)...What a difference it makes...Just takes a pinch...If you want to try Cru Forge V, I think you might even like it better than the first two for small work and utility blades....Cru V has Chromium and Vanadium carbides and being oil quenchable after a short soak time...Very hard to move under the hammer. Appears to have less scale than other materials while forging...Just a thought....
 
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