Steel questions for you blacksmiths

[Logan5219]

What are your thoughts on 80CRV2? I have done some research on Winkler knives II and it seems that the majority of his blades are made in 80CRV2 His blades are made for special forces so they must have a good amount of toughness and wear resistant on it. Can someone tell me how good is it in comparison to other tough steels like L-6 and 5160 or 51200. Thank you for your time

 

[i4Marc]

Of course it depends on the heat treatment and geometry of the blade but here are a couple of tests collected from YT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp7XM7g8tdg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiuUHUAaj_c

 

[Logan5219]

Damn those test i cringe each time they do that to their knives but it must be done for the sake of science

 

[james terrio]

I haven't worked with it myself yet, but the consensus is that 80CRV is excellent steel for "hard use" blades. :thumbup:

It also happens to be pretty inexpensive and not terribly tricky to heat-treat, so that's a bonus too.

 

[Logan5219]

What do you think is the best grind for a hard use blade?

 

[james terrio]

Full convex gives the best blend of good cutting performance and high strength/toughness.

If it doesn't have to cut particularly well and you intend to do a whole lot of heavy prying, a short convex (about halfway up the blade) leaves even more steel along the centerline and towards the spine of the blade.

 

[Cody Hofsommer]

I have been told that it is very similar to L6