5160 hardness question

E

europeanoutdoorsman

Joined
Feb 25, 2011
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456
Hello,
I am making 2 5160 short swords. the blade length will be 13.5 inches and the OAL will be 20 inches. The thickness will be 1/4".

I have never worked with 5160 before and my previous blades I have made were much smaller O-1 blades with a relatively high hardness.

I would like this short sword to be able to resist a lot of very high impacts (which is why I chose 5160) and be extremely tough and hold a reasonable to good edge. My tests with other knives made of 5160 has resulted in a 10 inch blade flexing like an "S" and returning back to the normal straight it was before flexing. This particular knife also held an edge better than I expected (at least as good as 1095 at 57hrc).

Could someone familiar with 5160 please suggest a hardness? One of these is going as a gift to someone who will likely abuse it so I would like it to take all the abuse possible.

Thanks!
 
Well, your "S" flexed blade had more to do with geometry than hardness. Hardness would effect edge holding to a greater degree. 5160 is a great steel for swords and so is L6... that is why they are commonly used(you may want to look into S7 as well). I used 5160 exclusively for my bush choppers and had great results at 58HRC. You may want to drop it a little for sword geometry but there are sooooooo many factors involved. There is no best "steel" alone, to make your sword perform well... it is the package(steel, geometry, heat treat, ergonomics and user technique) that will dictate performance. A properly made blade of low grade steel will out perform a poorly made blade of the best steel. Post pics when you have something!
 
Thanks for the response. I am stuck on 5160. It is just because the price and my positive experience with it. I was thinking of having at 55 HRC, but I would like to make sure edge retention is also good. Should I try to aim for 56-57 or is 55 solid enough?

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1022583-Becker-Swords-in-the-making

If you check that link above you can see the idea I am after. I will be making the smaller of the two swords there.

The blade that "S" flexed was an Ontario SP50...
 
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How did you "s" flex an SP50? I am counting on the probability that you were batonning through gnarly wood that wedged the blade in that shape. When I read your OP, I imagined a sword being thrust tip first. With the thicker cross section of those blades, you could use 5160 at 58RC to start. You can always temper back to find the sweet spot. Starting at too low of a hardness leaves you nowhere to go.
 
I was testing the SP50 some time ago and batoned it through some wood with two knots in it at opposing ends. It flexed the blade and I still hammered on it til it went through. It popped out, split the wood and absolutely no damage. I had an SP52 (recurve but still 9 in long and 1/4"thick) and I used it for about a year chopping and the edge stayed pretty sharp the whole time. I never sharpened it and it was still sharp enough to cut with and be dangerous to where you have to be cautious of how you handle it.

thanks for the hrc suggestion too
 
for swords, 2 things are paramount, toughness, and blade geometry. Sharpness/edge retention is for show. I have seen broadswords that could not cut paper cut a pig carcass clean in half.
 
I go for 56 - 58 HRC on my large choppers/swords.
 
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