This has been on my mind a while that is can you combine 3v,s5 ,l6 ,5160 into a knife to create a super tough blade exceeding what you can expect from the other 4 stand alone or is it too much of a good thing. The reason these 4 in particular is because they all have a near ideal quench point to reach 60 Hrc at 205c form my research . I was thinking about getting something custom made out of them
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Steel combinations
- Thread starter Maxlord
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Combining how? Layering/san-mai or some weird composite blade? I'd guess 3V would be the steel for the cutting edge, and the others for toughness, but I think you'd get the same or better result from a differential heat treat on the 3V, without any of the potential issues of using multiple steels and with the added benefit of increased corrosion resistance.
Chuck_Nunface
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You could certainly combine them, if you had the facilities, but the results would be difficult to predict.
On your list, S5 is the toughest, but it doesn't hold an edge very well. If you combine all those alloys, you'd likely get a steel less tough than S5, but with better wear resistance.
On your list, 3V is incredibly tough -- tougher than or about as tough as all but S5 -- and holds an edge better than the rest. My guess is that if you combined all those alloys, you'd get a blade that might be about as tough as 3V, but would not hold an edge as well. And your combo blade would probably rust like crazy. Better to stick with 3V, unless you're making a jackhammer bit, in which case you could go with S7.
On your list, S5 is the toughest, but it doesn't hold an edge very well. If you combine all those alloys, you'd likely get a steel less tough than S5, but with better wear resistance.
On your list, 3V is incredibly tough -- tougher than or about as tough as all but S5 -- and holds an edge better than the rest. My guess is that if you combined all those alloys, you'd get a blade that might be about as tough as 3V, but would not hold an edge as well. And your combo blade would probably rust like crazy. Better to stick with 3V, unless you're making a jackhammer bit, in which case you could go with S7.
As far as combining stuff, yea, people have explosive bonded Ti and S30V. I don't think it would be an issue combining the steels you mentioned. IIRC, Chad Nichols even made 3V/XHP damascus.
I'm not sure the properties of each steel would be cumulative if you powdered all of them, uniformly mixed them, and finally HIP them into a bar for making stuff.
Besides that, 3V (or similar derivative, 8% Cr steels) has roughly the same toughness as both L6 and 5160 at similar hardness (59 HRC, 40-50 ft/lb). There's also steels like Z-Tuff which would have similar toughness even at a couple points higher in hardness (62 HRC, ~45 ft/lb).
I think S5 can reach 100+ ft/lb at around 60 HRC (max attainable hardness is 62 HRC). However, I'm not sure I've seen many edge retention test, if any at all.
I could see a Damasteel-esque non-stainless with 3V/S5. That would actually be kinda cool. However, it would probably be more of a cosmetic thing than an real gain in performance in any one category.
I'm not sure the properties of each steel would be cumulative if you powdered all of them, uniformly mixed them, and finally HIP them into a bar for making stuff.
Besides that, 3V (or similar derivative, 8% Cr steels) has roughly the same toughness as both L6 and 5160 at similar hardness (59 HRC, 40-50 ft/lb). There's also steels like Z-Tuff which would have similar toughness even at a couple points higher in hardness (62 HRC, ~45 ft/lb).
I think S5 can reach 100+ ft/lb at around 60 HRC (max attainable hardness is 62 HRC). However, I'm not sure I've seen many edge retention test, if any at all.
I could see a Damasteel-esque non-stainless with 3V/S5. That would actually be kinda cool. However, it would probably be more of a cosmetic thing than an real gain in performance in any one category.
