Is 5160 a good axe steel?

[Tony Nguyen]

I was looking at Mineral Mountain Hatchet Works and they have a cool looking small axe (Battle hatchet #4) and I noticed it was made out of 5160. Is 5160 a good axe steel? In addition to the battle hatchet I was looking at the All Purpose Cleaver. Do you guys think it would perform similarly in regards to chopping, splitting, or batoning?

Also, if you have any experience with MMHW, does the maker keep the hardness (RC) in the low 50s or are they in the high 50s?

Thanks,

Tony

 

[Steve Tall]

Council Tools uses 5160 in their premium axes:

...
Axe Head Material: 5160 Differentially tempered steel...
Cost: $170.00
...The head is made of high grade 5160 steel, and as with the other Council Tool axes it is differentially tempered. It will also be tempered harder than the regular line, coming in at about 52-56 HRC....

 

[Storm Crow]

5160 makes for good tough blades if heat treated correctly (that caveat holds true for any steel). It'd be a good choice for an ax.

 

[JayGoliath]

Tony,

5160 is a very forgiving yet easy to work with steel. I like it the fact it could be sharpened easily yet takes so much abuse. M.S Daniel Winkler prefers this steel very much for his Winkler II series.
Edge on axe is usually treated to high 50's but never over low 60 as the area on the head is small for such impact dispersion. The edge might chip.
Say most choppers have high 60's on the edge but soft spine, same applied to axe but with low RC and gradually reduced at the neck area.
This is what i found mostly on a full tang axe. Once again i might totally wrong.

How hard is the steel in the knives/swords/axes?

All tools rate ~58 on the Rockwell C scale. Axes and cleavers are ~56- MMHW FAQ

On European models with wooden haft, the handle serves as fantastic shock absorber. I read somewhere the selection of hickory haft does well on the life of your wrist tendons.

 

[Tony Nguyen]

Thanks a lot guys. I'm thinking about buying the cleaver soon as a present to myself for getting my first job out of college!

It'll be a solid camp and hunting tool I think. I hope I can process game with it but we'll see soon.

p.s. Storm Crow I've been looking at your work and I think I'll be in touch with you soon about one of those sweet axes you make.

Thanks again,

Tony