1095 hardness?

BrandonM

BrandonM

Well-Known Member
What is a good hardness on 1095 that will be used as a daily carry type knife? 3/16 thickness of stock. It's not a large knife or a chopper. Thanks.
 
twss said:
What is a good hardness on 1095 that will be used as a daily carry type knife? 3/16 thickness of stock. It's not a large knife or a chopper. Thanks.
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If you wish to optimize the desired properties for that blade size and function it, of course, begins with steel selection. You have chosen 1095 for a knife on the smaller end of things- a very good choice. A knife this size is for slicing and fine cutting where edge wear with will be your main enemy. Larger blades need to be concerned about toughness, and even impact strength, but you will be reducing a good knife in getting hung up on those properties for a knife like the one you are planning. For toughness 60HRC and below are good but for edge retention on a small knife that will not be used (cannot really be used) as a machete, you will want above 60 HRC.

Not only will the higher hardness give more edge strength, which automatically translates into greater stability, but it will also allow the abrasion resistant pro-eutectoid carbides to be most effective. Ease of sharpening is a convoluted concept that can end up like a unicorn hunt. What sharpens a knife is abrasion, what dulls a knife is… abrasion, so we are kind of at odds with edge holding here. ANY sharpening stone is significantly harder than any phase within the steel so that should not be a problem, and if it is, there are diamond hones, if your steel is harder than that- I need that heat treating recipe! The fact is that nine times out of ten ease of sharpening is a factor of edge geometry. 66HRC steel can be sharpened in just a couple of passes if the geometry allows the proper and consistent angle of attack.

So my suggestion is to make your edge whatever hardness gives you the best performance and allow correct geometry handle the sharpening, and cutting for that matter. For knives that could contact bone of other substantial materials go closer to the 60HRC to 62HRC range and for something that will just be skinning or slicing vegetables go for the higher end. if you need to go lower than 60HRC for you application, switching to another steel would be more effective than softening a hypereutectoid out of its optimum strength/abrasion resisting range.
 
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I agree with Kevin that the intended end use of the blade is foremost and the heat treating should follow the blade concept,... as well as steel selection.

I have no problem with a 62 on certain blades and in some cases it's even more desirable. However, that alone and/or much above that can lead to failure when they aren't used as intended. This is often the case with knives in general being multi purpose tools to some degree. They sometimes get used in ways that the maker/user didn't originally intend out of necessity in the field. Whether or not this constitutes abuse is somewhat subjective, (depending on the circumstances)... especially in the secondary market, where custom heat treating isn't usually a know factor...

That being said, you can do an awful lot of cutting with a 1095 blade at a 58-60. It may require a bit more frequent sharpening and exhibit a small amount of faster wear, but you also don't have to worry as much about the blade snapping in the field,... which would be the worst case scenario, however rare or common it may be.
 
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The last time I checked,... kitchen knives get used more as weapons than any other type of knife, (in the real world).

… a knife is a knife, that gets the job done.
 
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One said:
The last time I checked,... kitchen knives get used more as weapons than any other type of knife, (in the real world).
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:) great to hear, now besides being a member of the Military-Defense Establishment, I am a weapons maker. and here i thought my knives would only be used on carrots, celery, and chunks of dead animal flesh. LOL :)
 
scott.livesey said:
:) great to hear, now besides being a member of the Military-Defense Establishment, I am a weapons maker. and here i thought my knives would only be used on carrots, celery, and chunks of dead animal flesh. LOL :)
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A house wife with a large Kitchen knife is a force to be wary of!:what!:
 
Hey!... A cast iron frying pan in one hand and a chef's knife in the other can be a fearsome thing,... in the wrong hands.

… you better just run, or grab the nearest foot stool to defend yourself... I know. :)
 
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One said:
Hey!... A cast iron frying pan in one hand and a chef's knife in the other can be a fearsome thing,... in the wrong hands.

… you better just run, or grab the nearest foot stool to defend yourself... I know. :)
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Tai,
I think we just came up with the next great reality show.

American Kitchen Gladiator!
Women square off against the husbands with their favorite knife and cast iron skillet! :35:
 
... I bet it wouldn't be too hard to find the actors. LOL

Silliness aside. Not sure how much weight it should carry, but it is true that ANY knife is a potential weapon etc., and the maker really has no control over what it actually gets used for. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it, but it's something to consider...

Ever see the knife fighting movie " Gangs of New York"? I sure wouldn't want "the Butcher" coming after me because a knife I made snapped in the field.

There might be some big money in combat kitchen cutlery. ;)
 
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As a firefighter/EMT, my partner and I were called to the scene of an interrupted burglary in which both the home owner and the perp had armed themselves with common butchers knives from the kitchen and had fought it out until both were down. Perp in his 60's, owner in his 70's. Perp got the worst of it, but both were critical. Bloodiest scene I have ever encountered. Living room and kitchen looked as though buckets of blood had been slung everywhere. Walls, floors, and ceilings. Both combatants had multiple serious wounds from knees to heads. Each had stab wounds, but most were deep slashes. The smell of blood was nearly overwhelming. A heavy iron odor hung in the air like a fog, and I could smell it for the rest of my shift. Both lived, but the perp was air lifted out just barely alive. Although also often bloody, gun fights leave a much neater scene.
 
Outside of customer’s special requests, custom heat treating etc., I think it’s generally a better bet to go with the highest possible temper but still get the job done well, within acceptable standards.
 
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This thread is way off topic, and drifting into areas that aren't always non-political. Let's move it back to the original posters question.
 
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