hot 5160 still hard to forge!

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elvenbladesmith07

Joined
Jul 29, 2004
Messages
663
i just got some leaf spring stock (which im nearly positive is 5160) cut up and was starting work on a fairebairn sykes style combat knife. i heated the strip which was about 1/2" by 1/4" and 11" long. after i took it from the fire, i started forging and immedately realized that my big hand sledge was barely denting the steel. all of my expireince till now has been with scrap and steels in the 1050-95 range. could this tough forging be from the amount of cromium in the steel? could it just br that i havent forged in a like a month and a half?
 
In general I have had no problems forging 5160....however, I have run into some leaf spring steel that was hard to forge.

I was told and also read somewhere that some of this steel is 6150 and it will heat treat and perform like 5160.....but is noticeably stiffer under the hammer.
 
So is it correct to say that forging 5160, leaf spring stock, is possible? I have a source for 5160 steel (leaf spring), according to the product engineer, though somewhat thin. Can I heat and hammer the edge profile into knife without making it too thin (typically @1/4 thick stock before hammering)?
 
Bob Katilus said:
So is it correct to say that forging 5160, leaf spring stock, is possible? I have a source for 5160 steel (leaf spring), according to the product engineer, though somewhat thin. Can I heat and hammer the edge profile into knife without making it too thin (typically @1/4 thick stock before hammering)?
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yes... leaf spring is perfectly good. I've seen posts on this and other forums about forging leaf springs. I made mine out of a leaf spring, 6 or 7mm thick at the start. which is about 1/4 inch.

http://www.cybamall.com/303shooter/knife.html

tells the story :P with pictures :)
 
Anneal it first.You are trying to forge hardened steel.Take it up to critical temp and hold for 5 min.Let cool in a tub of vermiculite overnight.Then forge it as usual and it will be like butter like butter.
 
thanks bladsmth, i guess i never really thought about it being anything besides 5160 cause it looks like it grinds like it and HT like it, and its also the mnost common leaf spring steel. so 6150, huh? is that 1050 with 61 cromium?
 
elvenbladesmith07 said:
thanks bladsmth, i guess i never really thought about it being anything besides 5160 cause it looks like it grinds like it and HT like it, and its also the mnost common leaf spring steel. so 6150, huh? is that 1050 with 61 cromium?
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6150 is very similar to 5160, except has a teeny bit less carbon and has the addition of a little vanadium. As for the difficulty forging, I don't know about all that. All I know is, compared to forging something like L6, 6150 was like hitting butter to me.
 
Having forged and wrestled with all kinds of junk metal, spring stock, etc. now I just buy 5160 if I want it. That way you know what you got. Springs are made out of all kinds of different steels or so I've heard. 5160 is cheap and available. It's easy to work with the hammer and with a file. If it isn't easy, it's probably not 5160. Good luck.

But why use 5160? 52100 is just as easy to work and makes a better blade. It's more rust resistant, too.
 
i used it cause its whats laying around. i am getting money together to buy a ton of 0-1, and some other simple carbon steels maybe ill get some 52100 then.
it doesntreally matter to me how rust resistant it is, i treat blades like gold!
 
so if 6150 and 5160 get the same results why would anyone use 6150? why not just use 5160? is this one of those "why did they fix it if it aint broke" kinda thing?
 
elvenbladesmith07 said:
so if 6150 and 5160 get the same results why would anyone use 6150? why not just use 5160? is this one of those "why did they fix it if it aint broke" kinda thing?
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6150 contains Vanadium, 5160 doesn't. A little Vanadium goes a long way towards wear resistance and grain refinement.
 
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