5160 in Damascus Advice?

Greg Covington

Greg Covington

Joined
Oct 28, 1999
Messages
1,563
I have this plan tomorrow to weld up a billet of 5160 and L6 into a random pattern of about 100 layers or so.

The 5160 is some of the bad stuff from Admiral that has the slag in it. The only use I see for it is in a Damascus mix....because those little black lines show up in the worst places.

Of course, all the welding will be done on the press....and I have heard that 5160 can be tricky to weld.....so.....

....any advice beforehand? Just keep the temp up??
 
Haven't noticed any problems with it. I've welded it by hand, power hammer & press without incedent...you shouldn't have any problems Greg.
 
won't the black stuff then be in the damascus in worst places??? :grumpy:


My admiral "zit line" steel is going to be used up in some camp choppers. No high finish nothing special just good working knifes.
 
......the "zits" that have seen in the steel are only about 1/4" long at the most....so I think they wont be a problem in the mix.....about 99% sure of it....we'll see though.

I have a 9 layer stack ready to weld.....with a bar of 5160 as the handle. The 5160 pieces are just over 1/4 thick and the L6 is around 3/16".

I think I will draw out the first weld and cut the bar into 4, weld...draw, then into three....should give me 108 layers.....
 
I missed the steel "zits". That'll be a crap shoot. I'd make beaters for myself out of that stuff. I prefer to carry damascus anyway. Good luck with it. Let us know how it works out for you.
 
Hey Greg,

I must have missed the thread about Admiral 5160 having inclusions. I'm on my second 22' bar of 5160 from Admiral and it has been totally clean and hyper performance steel. Scary to think the blades I am presently producing might be fatally flawed by inclusions. :(

Anyway, can someone post a picture or the conditions under which the inclusions were discovered so I can see what I'm worrying about? I have a lot of Admiral 5160 to get through and I don't need little black lines.

Thanks in advance!

Brian
 
I must have missed the posts about the 5160,too.I have used about three bars and had no problems.Haven't got one since last year.
Shouldn't be any problem in a damascus mix,though.The "zits" will be reduced by a factor of twelve in that billet,so they should be invisible,if they are still there at all.
 
I really dont think the slag that shows up in this 5160 is much more than a finish problem. They are not inclusions, per se.

You can't feel them when they expose in the steel.....they look a bit like corrosion....so any knife that you plan to polish or handrub this stuff is no good for.

Brian...if you've used some of the 5160 with the slag I would not worry a bit.

I made a couple combat knives out of it and parkerized them....and the slag is invisible.....I am sure that they wont be a problem in the Damascus.
 
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