Target Hardness for 5160 Chopper

[pastormarty]

I will build something similar to a Busse Battle Mistress. Mine will be 5160, 1/4" thick, FFG or nearly FFG. Assuming proper edge geometry and professional HT, how had can I target the 5160?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

You have about ten threads running on the same subjects.

Question about O-1, Question about 1095, question about O-1 and 1095, Question about 5160, Question about O-1 from Jantz, question about 1095 from Jantz, ....etc.

It would be much better to put it all in one or two threads. You don't need a new thread just because you have a second question on the same subject.

 

[pastormarty]

Wasn't trying to clutter things up. Just figured three different steels in three different kinds of knives would have three different answers.

 

[DevinT]

Pastor, target hardness for most steels is around 60hrc. You can move up or down in hardness depending on steel type, starting thickness, geometry, intended use etc. The trend these days is moving upward in hardness. I recommend you do some of your own testing to determine what is best.

Hoss

 

[jdm61]

Hoss is spot on. When first started messing around with knives like 12 years ago, in many people's minds, 59Rc was the "magic number" for a lot of steels that can be left much harder. No longer.

 

[noseoil]

I ran my big "chopper" at 58 with 5160. It's 1/4" thick, 2" deep & 18" long, with a 19 degree per side finished bevel. No chipping or rolling from cutting, so I might have gone a tad harder, but I was more concerned about twisting due to bad technique & blowing out chunks of the edge on knots & hard spots. 5160 is pretty tough, so it's a good forgiving steel for chopping. The basic design is a bit beefy & I might have taken the edge down to be thinner, but for a first attempt it's worked out fine for what I needed.

It's only the second pattern I've designed & made, so I'm pleased there were no issues from work or use. That's really all you can expect as a beginner on this stuff, it works & looks ok.....