52100 edge retention

james terrio said:
I agree with Adam... as a maker, there's really no reason not to use 52100 for "carbon" blades, unless you want to have a visible hamon/temper line. (1095 works better for that)

As to price... in my experience 52100 barstock is really no more expensive than 1095 or 1080/1084, and notably less expensive than O1.
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I don't think you can lose using either 52100 or A2 really in the carbon steels. :)
 
Patrick, That's perfect because pigs are one of the animals I process. Glad you wrote that as it directly relates to why i started this thread.

Adam, Having a plethora of options and still choosing 52100 says volumes about the steel thank you for chiming in again.

James, From where I'm sitting 52100 sounds like having the cake and eating it too (corrosion not an issue I use and care for my knives). So far I haven't heard any drawbacks for my needs. Thanks again
 
The only one I have is a ratmandu .When I finally get it sharp it will hold a super edge . I had a job in a packing house years ago . The guys knifes that held the best edge were a little on the hard side .
Jake
 
I have a couple knives in 52100 and really like this steel, especially for outdoor tasks. For whatever reason, I find it to be one of the easiest steels to sharpen. It doesn't burr badly at 58 - 59, which is always my nemesis in sharpening. I've done some limited batoning and such with this steel, and it's more than tough enough. It seems to perform well for both large and small blades, although I will say for small blades, I'd prefer it to be on the hard side.

Love it.
 
I prefer to use DMT and finish with Spyderco ceramic, usually the brown. It's fast, and I'm really short on time these days. Sometimes, just for old time's sake, I'll go out in the garage and put some kerosene on my Norton India stone and enjoy the process. 52100 responds well with either, IMO.
 
buckeyejake said:
The only one I have is a ratmandu .When I finally get it sharp it will hold a super edge . I had a job in a packing house years ago . The guys knifes that held the best edge were a little on the hard side .
Jake
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That's the thing with the simpler carbon steels, Hardness is everything since they don't really have the carbides to aid in edge retention much so the hardness has to be up there to raise the compression strength high enough that they don't deform as fast.
 
I've never used ceramic to sharpen, I usually use water stones or sand paper then a loaded leather strop. Shouldn't take too long to sharpen.
 
Ankerson said:
I don't think you can lose using either 52100 or A2 really in the carbon steels. :)
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I haven't worked with A2, but from what I know it seems like it would also be a fine choice.

52100 sells better, though. ;) It's a happy set of circumstances for guys like me, now that it's available in suitable barstock sizes... lots of people are excited about it for various reasons, it's not terribly expensive, it's pretty easy to work with, and most importantly, it really does make dang fine knife blades.
 
james terrio said:
I haven't worked with A2, but from what I know it seems like it would also be a fine choice.

52100 sells better, though. ;) It's a happy set of circumstances for guys like me, now that it's available in suitable barstock sizes... lots of people are excited about it for various reasons, it's not terribly expensive, it's pretty easy to work with, and most importantly, it really does make dang fine knife blades.
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A2 is good for people who want more edge retention and still want to do some harder work with their blades, you can run A2 harder for better edge retention as in over 60 HRC and it will still take it....
 
Ankerson said:
A2 is good for people who want more edge retention and still want to do some harder work with their blades, you can run A2 harder for better edge retention as in over 60 HRC and it will still take it....
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A2 is also a good bit better from a corrosion resistance stand point as well.
 
I have been using 52100 a little over 20 years. I passed my JS test and used it in Damascus to pass my MS test with. I temper it back to a 57 Rc. That is also what I tempered it to for my competition knives when I was competing in the ABS cutting contests. At that hardness, it won't chip and holds a great edge. I have used it for folders, hunters, fighters, camp knives, and a skinning hatchet. It is very good.
On my bug out blades, I will temper it close to 56 Rc to ensure that the knife will not break under extreme conditions.
 
I have been using 52100 a little over 20 years. I passed my JS test and used it in Damascus to pass my MS test with. I temper it back to a 57 Rc. That is also what I tempered it to for my competition knives when I was competing in the ABS cutting contests. At that hardness, it won't chip and holds a great edge. I have used it for folders, hunters, fighters, camp knives, and a skinning hatchet. It is very good.
On my bug out blades, I will temper it close to 56 Rc to ensure that the knife will not break under extreme conditions. I temper at 475 degrees.
 
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