I Tested the Edge Retention of 48 Steels

SharpBits said:
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This chart by Dr. Larrin shows that you would not gain much, if any, toughness by running Magnacut below 60 hrc. 61/62 seems to be a good hardness for Magnacut if you want it towards the tougher side. Pushed to 64 and it beats AEB-L at 64 in toughness, but exceeds AEB-l everywhere except cost.
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It seem that Magnacut is best at 62,5 for hardness and toughess. On 59 would be about 20 and on 62-63 about 15 ft/lbs. But I dont quite understand meaning "toughness". Is this pure elasticity ( like Cold Steel test in degrees) or endurance to the point of breaking (total bending)?
 
zorandjurkic said:
It seem that Magnacut is best at 62,5 for hardness and toughess. On 59 would be about 20 and on 62-63 about 15 ft/lbs. But I dont quite understand meaning "toughness". Is this pure elasticity ( like Cold Steel test in degrees) or endurance to the point of breaking (total bending)?
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It's energy needed to fracture the steel, determined by a charpy impact test on uniform samples. The test is how high a pendulum needs to swing from to form a crack in the steel.
 
Hey. I've been a lurker here for what seems like decades. This is super interesting to me. I wonder what Larrin thinks about the variable results others have gotten?

My steels are 440c, 154cm, Aeb-l, 52100, d-2, 1084 and 1075, 5160, w-2 and a nice piece of sup-9.

It looks like my priorities have been toughness and ease of maintenance over edge retention.
Currawong said:
AEB-L at 61rc has better edge holding, is tougher, and is more stainless, than 52100.....? Then what advantage does 52100 have over AEB-L?
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I think the 52100 is more forgeable, though it crumbles if you get it too hot. D-2 is a bitch on the anvil, and I've never tried to do Aeb-l or 440c, but they would likely be even more red hard. I instinctively feel that the 440C would have the same red short problems as the 52100. I have always used the stainless when I'm doing Stock Removal, and the tool steels and HC when I'm forging. I have never sold a knife, but I give them away as gifts to friends and family.

Now, my reason for posting. I don't want to start a shitstorm here, but I just have to ask- has anyone else looked at Jim Hrisoulas' modern or advanced bladesmith's books and the information on different steels? I guess it was written in the eighties, so there's that. Why do forging bladesmiths from that time have such a low opinion of the stainless steels vs the HC steels, 10xx? Paraphrasing, but he said," Stainless steels can make a blade that matches a Hc steel with proper treatment" or something similar. Well, the Simple steels we forge are generally tougher than the Stainless in larger sizes, but edge retention is a whole different ball park. And tool steels are unsurprisingly tough and retain their edges way better than the anecdotes would appear.

Those books jive with me in almost every other way, BTW. I'm getting too old to even use the hammer dependably, but my time forging 52100, D-2, and the simpler steels is pretty vividly etched into my head. If edge packing really worked I'd do a stainless blade in stock removal and then forge the edge.
 
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