Hot roll cold roll

[a1archer4life]

The next time I order steel I plan on using 1084 or 1095 and I was wondering for one wich one of these two steel's are better and should I get hot rolled or cold rolled. What is the diffrence between hot and cold rolled. Wich one is easiest to drill and grind. Im guessing the difference is its hardness but Im not sure. Also what thickness of steel do you suggest 1/8,3/16, or1/4 I make mostly usefull hunting knives. Thanks

[Ray Rogers]

From a practical point of view there isn't much difference between HR and CR. The designation refers to how the mill formed the steel - whether it was rolled out while hot or cold. The HR stuff has some scale on the surface when you get it and the CR is basically clean. I have used both and can't really notice any difference in workability between the two. Mostly, I use HR because it comes in a larger variety of sizes and thicknesses, at least from the suppliers that I use.

1095 has more carbon in it than 1084. I use a lot of 1095 and find that it makes an excellent blade but most guys will tell you that 1084 is easier to work with and I think that's probably true. Bottom line: both are very cheap steels to buy so get both and experiment. That's what being a knife maker is all about ...