Carbon steel type question.

T

Theforerunner

Joined
Jul 11, 2018
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I’m going to be making some blades for an X/O and his squadron stationed in Afghanistan. I’m wondering what type of carbon steel would be good to use for a short survival blade that may need to be good for prying and pretty much everything else you’d use it for if you’re behind enemy lines or stranded somewhere etc.

I dont know how to embed a photo into the post but here’s an image for reference https://i.imgur.com/wPo9b7w.jpg

I’m looking for something that’s going to have good wear resistance, take and hold a sharp edge and possibly be decent against oxidation. (Idk that this exists in the carbon steel world.) I’ve thought about cerakote for the last bit but the customer has mentioned having a polished blade for signaling etc. I usually use 1084 but I’m thinking maybe 1095? I haven’t messed with any of the 5xxx steels or a2 or anything but I do have a paragon forge and can achieve a proper heat treat. I’m figuring carbon steel will be better than stainless for the toughness and I suppose they’ll have oil on hand (I assume they’ll have oil in their gun cleaning kits that I also assume they carry or have with them.) I’m looking for something that’s going to take a good edge and hold it for a long time, especially in the case of the belt cutter and serrations.

Any suggestions for which steel to use?

Also on a side note, I typically polish my knife edges to mirror, but I think I’m right in assuming that a knife that shaves hair and slices through paper like butter isn’t gonna stay that way for very long, and in some way, hurts the longevity of the blade edge. Is there any reason that I should aim for a more toothy edge? Or maybe just try to incorporate some sort of small sharpening stone in the sheath for worst case scenarios?

Thanks
 
A2 is a perfect match for this project. 3v is another good choice but more expensive. Simple carbon steels are not as tough as alloy steels. There are other good steels but no need to explore them all.

Hoss
 
I would say 3v for sure, that’s probably the best choice. If you cerakote it, 52100 would be another great choice. You could spring temper the spine for extra toughness. I’m getting good results with 8670 also. It’s cheap and very tough. Even aeb-l would be a good choice.
 
I was going to suggest 3v too, especially with low temper protocol. It has better stain resistance than most carbon steels. Another option would be to go with aeb-l, which is very tough, and stainless.
 
stuck on carbon? I'm gonna rock the boat and say AEBL.... But A2 would be great as it has some Cr.
 
I’m not particularly stuck on carbon but a post I made on here before got me replied that lead me to believe that carbon steel will always be tougher than stainless. Was I led astray? Also the customer has decided on a polished finish as well.
 
For the steels that I have tested so far, AEB-L was the toughest:
toughness-summary.jpg
 
Theforerunner said:
good to use for a short survival blade that may need to be good for prying and pretty much everything else you’d use it for if you’re behind enemy lines or stranded somewhere etc.
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Thta's no time for experiments.

If you use A2 like DT recommended, make a few and send them all out for pro heat treatment.
 
12345678910 said:
Thta's no time for experiments.

If you use A2 like DT recommended, make a few and send them all out for pro heat treatment.
Click to expand...

I have a professional heat treating setup and have worked successfully with stainless steels, I think I’ll be fine heat treating myself.
 
I would use AEBL as it is very tough and corrosion resistant.. it’s not an experiment steel but well proven. O1 rusts very easy but is very tough and holds an edge okay. A2 is like O1 but with 5% ish Cr so it is a little stain resistant and holds an edge a bit better than O1.. I’d be happy with A2 or AEBL for your needs
 
Willie71 said:
I should have some 1084, 1095, W2, O1, and 15n20 in the next batch I send for testing, along with a handful of exotics that were sent to me for heat treat.
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Can’t wait to see those tests!:D I already know those steels are very good, but want to compare them to AEBL in therms of toughness.

Best regards, Willie71!
 
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