HeatTreatBench · knife steel heat-treat recipes

1095 Heat Treat Recipe

Carbon knife steel · target 59–65 HRC · austenitize 1475°F (802°C)

CategoryCarbon
Austenitize (recommended)1475°F (802°C)
Austenitize range1450–1500°F (788–816°C)
Soak at temperature5–10 min
QuenchFast oil (Parks 50); thin stock can warp in faster media
Temper2× 2 h · cool to room temp between cycles
Reliable hardness57–65 HRC
Higher carbon than 1084 — needs a fast quench to avoid pearlite. Retained austenite is minimal at these temps.

Temper → hardness chart

Approximate HRC after a double-temper at each temperature (from the sources below). Set your target and pick the matching temper.

Temper °FTemper °CHardness
300°F149°C65 HRC
350°F177°C64 HRC
400°F204°C63 HRC
450°F232°C61 HRC
500°F260°C59 HRC

Composition (typical, wt%)

Element%
C0.95%
Mn0.4%

AISI 1095 typical (C 0.90–1.03, Mn 0.30–0.50)

HeatTreatBench — the recipes in your shop, offline

Get the full 1095 recipe plus 25 more steels offline — set your target HRC and the app gives you the exact temper, with a forge timer and a per-blade log. Works in the shop with no signal.

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Sources

More Carbon steels

10841500°F · 58–64 HRCW21450°F · 58–65 HRC26C31475°F · 61–65 HRC