Why are newbs obsessed with 1095

JTknives

JTknives

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Jun 11, 2006
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I have noticed this more and more and wondered why newbs have this crazy obsession with 1095. I'm not saying it's a bad steel, it has its place. I just would not consider its place to be in the hands of a noob. Even when counseled by knowledgeable knife makers to use somthing else thy fight to keep there "precious". I have seen this "1095itis" in actual knife makers as well. I just don't understand it, there are some amazing carbon steels out there that preform easily as good if not quite a bit better and are much easier to heat treat.
 
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I think there is a lot of (well meant and IMO reasonable) advice out there to start with simple carbon steel and 1095 is nearly always mentioned. I also think it is a very versatile steel - I have seen it been used from kitchen knives to outdoor knives (my Iisakki Aito puukko which I love is made from 1095). Yes, there are steels that are easier to HT at home (O1 or 1075, etc.), but 1095 should still be doable. I have not used 1095 myself, but I would see no reason to look down on it. It is also relatively cheap and thanks to low amount of alloys and thus probably also reasonably easy to hand finish or even grind bevels by hand. It is simply a good quality simple carbon steel. It is basically a less clean version of Hitachi white#2.
 
I just bought some when I built my oven because now I can heat treat it and cause- hamons. I think AEB-L will be my steel of choice going forward however.
 
Probably because it is one of, if not the most popular carbon steels available ... almost every knife supply house I know of reguarly stocks it in a wide variety of sizes. Can't say the same for simpler steels like 1080, 1084, 1075, etc...
 
Price and availability would be my guess.

I know our local knife maker supply guy has stacks of two types of steel he sells, and those are 1095 in a few different dimensions, and 0.25" 5160.
 
MORE CARBON=MORE BETTER

I think a lot of people just think"I need carbon steel, so I need as much carbon as I can get"

Personally I think that's why 1075 is used so much less than 1095
 
I am one of the newbs you speak of, so i guess i'm well suited to reply. My mindset is that it's popular not only for newbs, but the biggest manufactures as well. When someone owns 10 or so knives in a particular steel and have used them they have experience with it and know it's track record. So it's an obvious choice when they make the step to produce their own knife. Obviously it's hard to heat treat but they either don't know that, or are outsourcing the heat treat anyways. When manufactures like ESEE and Ka-Bar use it, it's simply a safe bet to go with.

Many people in this situation aren't making high end art knives or show pieces. They just want something to chop or bushcraft with. 1095 is loved in the outdoor community for its edge retention yet ease of sharpening, it's ability to throw lots of sparks on a ferro rod, and it's character when it develops a patina.
 
If I could get any other steel as cheap as I can 1095 I would. Heat treat isn't all that hard, you just need good temp control and the right quench.

It's like the Remington 700. Almost never the best tool for the job, many higher performing options often for the same price. But everyone knows what it is and what they are going to get. It's popular due to...it's popularity.
 
I think most likely due to bigger manufacturers using it, and since its a "simple carbon steel" to a newb it makes sense that 1095 would be as forgiving to heat treat as 1080 in a two brick forge or whatever they can put together. A cursory search will tell them that stainless is not an option for home heat treat, but more then a few YouTubers tout 1095 as easy to heat treat at home. These same folks rarely mention a ten minute soak.
 
kuraki said:
Heat treat isn't all that hard, you just need good temp control and the right quench
Click to expand...

That's the clincher right there, if you have that then you can do any steel you want. If you have good control of your heat treat then you can go with something like 52100. Beat the pants off 1095 any day. But new people don't have that control and I think get led to believe if it gets hard it's good.
 
That's true. But there are plenty of steels I don't care to use even though I have a good controlled furnace. I'm not messing around with plates or dry ice or nitrogen. I'll just send that stuff out. But I soak everything about 10 min so to me, 1095, w2, 1084, 15n20, o1, it's all the same. Heat to temp, soak and quench.
 
Hamons

Some people and makers like it because it is a good carbon steel that is easy to get a hamon with.

I have used it, I like it.

But I really do not obsess over the aesthetics of a hamon and rather have A2 cryoed for a working blade.

Currently I like AEB-L due to its super fine grain, edge holding and toughness. It is stainless that sharpens like a high carbon blade.
 
I've got a stick of AEB-L I need to make something out of it the way it's been talked about lately.
 
But if your after a Hamon why use 1095 and not W2. Sorry I'm not bashing 1095 I'm just playing 20 questions. If it's because it's a cheep steel ok but really the price of steel should just be a fraction of your cost. The only time I can see weighing steel price is when going after something like say Z-finit where $50 for one blades worth of steel. Or if trying to hit a specific price point. But you factor that into your selling price. But this is not a thread on price but steel.
 
Only Kabar uses the 0170-6/1095CV/50-100B. The other guys are using 1095. ESEE knives are listed as being quite soft, like 55-57.
Matthew Gregory said:
Which is interesting, because what they use, if I'm not mistaken, is 1095CV. Definitely NOT the same as 1095...
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Which you can get in LONG bars as your local steel supplier. The first non-PG steel that I bought was that round edge 1/4 x 1 1/2 dirty 5160 bar. It was like a 20 foot bar and they copped it up into 5 pieces for me.
Metalhead0483 said:
Price and availability would be my guess.

I know our local knife maker supply guy has stacks of two types of steel he sells, and those are 1095 in a few different dimensions, and 0.25" 5160.
Click to expand...
 
Here is a question that I have. If W2 is a pretty tough steel at 60Rc or higher, why does 1095 have to be left at hardness levels as low as 55 Rc? Same with 5160. We know that it is quite tough at 58-59, yet we see it sold by these "big knife companies" as soft was 54Rc. Why is my 1084 tough at 60-61Rc using the old reliable 1500/400 recipe and Parks #50 when it has less carbon than 1095? Sorry, but this sounds like folks chasing cost, not performance.
 
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