52100 for a boar spear?

L

Leon Husock

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Jul 17, 2019
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I know this isn't exactly the standard use for 52100, but I need thick (2" round) bar for this piece and, in a baffling twist, I can get that cheaper in 52100 than I can in W1, the other steel that's available to me in super thick round bar. My main frame of reference for 52100 is chef's knives; is it poorly suited to a spear, or can I just temper it a bit hotter than I would for a slicing knife and it'll work fine?
 
DevinT said:
Look at knife steel nerds, Larrin and I did some good testing on 52100. Look at the toughness numbers and tempering temperatures. 52100 is better than W1.

Hoss
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Well then it's convenient for me that it's also cheaper! It makes sense, it's not like it's one of those crazy steels that are 68HRC after tempering and are designed to hold an edge forever but with very low toughness.
 
Is 4140 or 1045 available to you? Those can often be found in 2” round and I think would make a much tougher spear than either of the current options
 
Joshua Fisher said:
Is 4140 or 1045 available to you? Those can often be found in 2” round and I think would make a much tougher spear than either of the current options
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I don't think either of those will hold an edge to my satisfaction for a project like this. It's also known as a hewing spear and will have a blade about the length of a short sword, capable of slashing as well as stabbing. 1045 will make a decent hatchet and it's nice because you can sharpen it with a file in the field, but for something like this I'm looking for a real high carbon steel.
 
You don't need "rea high" carbon, just medium to mid-range carbon. A carbon content of .60% to .84% is plenty for your purpose. More important will be the HT and what temperature you temper at.
 
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My understanding of high carbon was always that it started around .75-.8% carbon, but that's just semantics. I bought the 2" 52100 round bar, Jantz sells them for a pretty reasonable price. As long as 52100 isn't a *bad* fit for a piece like this, I'll probably use that. My other option is to take some 3/8" 80CrV2 I have lying around and slice it up and make a billet out of it.
 
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