5160 Mix in Damascus

Greg Covington · Jul 28, 2004

I have a qty of 5160 from Admiral that has the little slag crap in it and I want to use it up in some billets. What might me a good mix with this 5160?

Does 5160 appear dark in a mix or brighter...say like L6.

How about a 5160/L6 mix?

mete · Jul 28, 2004

What's slag crap ? L6 will stay lighter because of the nickel.

Danbo · Jul 28, 2004

I have an old Jerry Kennedy bowie made out of 5160/L6 mix. The pattern is quite bold.

Greg Covington · Jul 28, 2004

Danbo...thanks for the info.

Mete....some of that Admiral 5160 has either slag or other impurities in the steel which show up at the most hateful of moments. I heard of it from a few others here and I had it show up on a large Bowie about an inch from the tip during the final grind. Showed up as an inch long black line about halfway up, running along with the blade.....it wasnt a crack.

I took another section of the unforged bar and ground it like a chisel and found two areas of the same stuff.

mete · Jul 28, 2004

That sure is slag crap !! Some alloys are more likely to be of better quality such as 52100 which is often bearing quality, no slag there .

Greg Covington · Jul 28, 2004

mete said:
That sure is slag crap !! Some alloys are more likely to be of better quality such as 52100 which is often bearing quality, no slag there .

I just figured I would use it in a Damascus mix.....I wasnt sure if it would show a bright appearance also like L6. I think I will mix it with L6 and 01.

raker · Jul 28, 2004

Greg,
I wouldn't use it with the 01, not enough contrast to it. About anything will mix with L6 or 15N20 (the bright lines) if you are wanting some contrast. I always check the carbon content first and then the nickel content. If the nickel content is great, it will have a great contrast. I have used 52100, 5160, 1070, 1084, and 1095 with both L6 and 15N20 with good results. A friend used 1070 and 1095 together and got 1082 (or about) as it had no visible sign of damascus folds in the steel. I asked him if he was trying to get some 1084.

Greg Covington · Jul 29, 2004

Ray....I was going to use it with 01 and L6....the L6 to give the contrast and the 01 to up the carbon content in the mix.

I have a good quantity of the stuff and I need to get rid of it somehow. If I just used it straight, I'd have to do parkerized finishes on it because of the slag in the steel.