What's the difference between 1095, 52100, and O1?

cotdt

cotdt

Joined
Oct 2, 2006
Messages
1,746
If you had the choice between 3 identical knives in 1095, 52100, and O1, which would you choose and why?
 
depends on the person heat treating it. in 1095 rat does an insane heat treatment. the knife has great edge ret and will take a crazy beating. i don't have a rat yyet but i'm really thinking about it though from everything i'm reading about them.
 
depends on the person heat treating it. in 1095 rat does an insane heat treatment. the knife has great edge ret and will take a crazy beating. i don't have a rat yyet but i'm really thinking about it though from everything i'm reading about them.


crap sorry for the double post
 
ar0maticdecay said:
depends on the person heat treating it. in 1095 rat does an insane heat treatment. the knife has great edge ret and will take a crazy beating. i don't have a rat yyet but i'm really thinking about it though from everything i'm reading about them.
Click to expand...

Not to sound like a jerk, but if you don't have one then how do you know about the heat treat? I would doubt people using knives of the same steel from different manufacturers could tell a difference in steels much less having never used them.

Not knocking you but Rat has lots of fanboys and while I'm sure they are great knives made by great people, there is only so much a certain steel can do no matter how much hype they get.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
Not to sound like a jerk, but if you don't have one then how do you know about the heat treat? I would doubt people using knives of the same steel from different manufacturers could tell a difference in steels much less having never used them.

Not knocking you but Rat has lots of fanboys and while I'm sure they are great knives made by great people, there is only so much a certain steel can do no matter how much hype they get.
Click to expand...

i have a friend that has one. rc-3 and i see a lot of posts on here about them. i trust my friend opinion


and if u have a good heat treatment and a not so good one u WILL tell the difference. i had an s30v blade b4 that was junk while my zt300 is great
 
There's a lot goes into a good blade besides steel, and besides heat treat. Blade geometry counts too -- the type and height of primary grind, the angle of the edge. You have to analyze carefully to separate all these factors. Chanting along with the other enthusiasts is an exercise in social bonding, not knife evaluation.

Steels like O1, 52100, and 1095, for example, can probably only be really appreciated in larger blades, mostly fixed blades, because few people stress their folders enough to matter.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Steels like O1, 52100, and 1095, for example, can probably only be really appreciated in larger blades, mostly fixed blades, because few people stress their folders enough to matter.
Click to expand...

Good points about the other factors. However, toughness matters in small blades too, because all knives have edges and the thin edge has to hold up against the most abuse. With a typical stainless steel you hit a staple while cutting a cardboard box and you get a nasty chip on your blade. Then you decide to give it a more obtuse angle to prevent chipping, but now it no longer cuts like a $100 knife should. I don't get these chips with tougher steels, they hold up acute edges that can take more abuse.

This is for a small knife with a thin blade and an acute edge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top