Mixing and Heat treating 5180

[Tai Goo]

I guess I'll melt 50% 5160 and 50% 52100. This is going to be fun!

... Sounds like it could be fun to me!

Go for it!... Think outside the box, and don't let the party poopers pop your bubble or spoil your fun.

Keep an open mind and who knows what you might come up with.

 

[69_knives]

What's wrong with CruForgeV

61 hardness at 400 temper... How hard do you want?


Carbon 1.05
Chromium 0.50%
Vanadium 0.75%
Manganese 0.75%

Hardening
Preheat: Heat to 1200-1250°F (650-675°C) Equalize.
Austenitize: Heat to 1500-1550°F (820-845°C) Equalize.
Quench in oil.

Temper: Double temper at 400-500°F recommended.

Approximate hardness after double tempering is shown below. Actual hardness will depend on hardening temperature and quench rate.

Temper: 350 400 425 450 500 550 600
......HRC: 62.. 61.. 59.. 58.. 58.. 56.. 55

 

[AcridSaint]

Definitely don't let anyone spoil your fun, just don't allow the results of your fun to convince you that they have any deeper meaning.

 

[Tai Goo]

I think "fun",... has much more potential for deeper meaning and new discovery,... than any cut and dried science, logic, reasoning or inside the box thinking.

You may not get exactly what you set out for..., but hey, play around with it. You'll have a good time and I'm sure you'll learn a lot. I encourage you!

... Anyway, Mete already gave a good scientific answer to half of the original question, without making any unscientific value judgments on it. I think the rest should be left up to you.

Follow your own path and take the advice of others with a grain of salt.

 

[Nebulae]

melting your own would be unpossible if you absolutly must have the sxtra carbon try case hardening it, or carburizing. just leave it in a carbon (preferably charcole) forge for a long time, and it should gain some carbon

 

[me2]

That composition for 1080+ sounds like the very definition of a chromium-vanadium cutlery steel. I forgot about 51100. Are any manufacturers still using it? The CruForgeV sounds like a good one too.

 

[cotdt]

That composition for 1080+ sounds like the very definition of a chromium-vanadium cutlery steel. I forgot about 51100. Are any manufacturers still using it? The CruForgeV sounds like a good one too.

So is there nickel in 1080+ or not? I hope there is no nickel. Complicates heat treating.

 

[mete]

The 50xx, 51xx and 52xx steels are straight Cr , no Ni, 10xx only C !!

 

[Don Hanson III]

So is there nickel in 1080+ or not? I hope there is no nickel. Complicates heat treating.

It has nickel, 2% +/- and will not complicate heat treat at all... It's probably called something else, like 8670, can't remember at the moment.

 

[Phillip Patton]

It has nickel, 2% +/- and will not complicate heat treat at all... It's probably called something else, like 8670, can't remember at the moment.

8670 has less than 1% nickel, according to an analysis I had done on some of Admirals.

 

[hardheart]

Isn't there someone doing custom melts of around 250 lbs? There's also a ton of backyard smelting and wootz resources online. If you want a homogeneous steel, seems you could get yourself a crucible and not cool it as slowly as recommended for making wootz. Have fun hammering out a billet!

 

[AcridSaint]

Last year I used the online form to request a quote for two different steels from the only 250LB custom smelter I could find online. I waited about six weeks and then emailed them asking about my quote and was told "Sorry, we don't carry those steels at this time". I replied that I was asking for steels that no one carries and pointed them to their web literature where they will do designer melts to your specifications. I never got a reply back

 

[Don Hanson III]

8670 has less than 1% nickel, according to an analysis I had done on some of Admirals.

Yeah I remember, that particular steel had less than 1%, it will vary. And whoever had the 1080+ made could have specified any number of diff alloys.

Isn't there someone doing custom melts of around 250 lbs?

They no longer do it but their web site hasn't changed.