what is your opinion on Ontario 5160 steel ?

D

dingy

Joined
Feb 19, 2008
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hi you all.
what is your opinion on Ontario 5160 steel ?
plz put in pro or con , thanks.
 
My RD4's 5160 is very soft. OKC rates it around HRC 53, I think.

RD4 5160 dulls and sharpens quickly, and takes an extremely fine edge, more so than my 1095 machete. Surprisingly, it's pretty rust-resistant for a high carbon steel, way more than 1095.

I prefer it to 1095 because of the rust resistance and it seems to handle impacts better; my RD4 chips less than my OKC machete when hacking at wood.

I'd really like to see 5160 at a higher HRC, like at 58-60. Unfortunately, 5160 barely exists on the production market, with OKC being the only company using it. Who knows why?
 
simply cause the steel is very cheap .;)

Buck has some knives made of 5160 steel , but the design that i do not like .

Miller Bros uses the steel make knives and swords , but he runs the shop seems to be a custom way and the price is not friendly to me .
 
My Ontario RTAK II is made of 5160 and...as a fair hand at sharpening, I have never been able to get it as sharp as many other, much harder steels. It's never been an issue since I only use this blade to baton firewood and chop limbs and the edge I get is fine for those tasks, however I have always been frustrated since I can get everything else shaving sharp and the best edge I can put on this knife is just adequate.
 
All my spec plus gen2 knives ( 48,49,51 ) have withstood hard use with no issues. Sharpens up like 1095 does and seems to hold an edge a little better from my experience. Best kraton handles out there also btw , even though I prefer micarta.
 
All,

Great discussion. I held off so that you could voice your ops.
The 5000 series alloy steel offer some nice improvements over 1095 in regards to toughness and strength. The advantage of 1095 is the increased carbon content which makes for increased hardness and edge holding. Because there is more free carbon which can go into carbides, cutting performance is usually better. The down side is that it is more brittle than 5160. Because of the increased carbon, corrosion becomes more of an issue. It is the extra carbon that reacts with the iron and the elements to form rust.

Lower carbon in 5160 (0.60 vs 0.95) means slightly lower hardness but an edge that is easier to sharpen and lower rust.

There are always trade offs to be made in all knife steels. One has to determine what they are really looking for and make a wise choice.
There is a perfect blade material: It is called Unobtainium. The person who can discover/invent this material will be very rich.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto

Director of Engineering
Ontario Knife Co.
 
[/QUOTE]The advantage of 1095 is the increased carbon content which makes for increased hardness and edge holding. Because there is more free carbon which can go into carbides, cutting performance is usually better.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info Paul. Since I could always get 1095 blades very sharp, I was beginning to think there was an issue w/my RTAK's 5160 heat treat since after many sharpening sessions I could barely get it to slice heavy paper...steep primary bevel not withstanding.
 
FTR-14c said:
Ontario 5160 takes a serious beating.
Click to expand...

As I was told a while ago, in general the 5160 is better suited to longer/thicker/larger blades that will take a heavier beating...whereas 1095 is meant for small to medium sized blades that are more "purpose built."

it was described to me that 5160 is the "sword-ish" steel and the 1095 is the "utility/combat" steel.
 
I like it, it is softer than I'd like, but seems to achieve a very sharp edge, holds it for a while, and is pretty rust resistant. It does chip when you throw it at harder objects, but do you really need to shave with a 10.5" fixed blade? ;)
 
knolan said:
My Ontario RTAK II is made of 5160 and...as a fair hand at sharpening, I have never been able to get it as sharp as many other, much harder steels. It's never been an issue since I only use this blade to baton firewood and chop limbs and the edge I get is fine for those tasks, however I have always been frustrated since I can get everything else shaving sharp and the best edge I can put on this knife is just adequate.
Click to expand...
Makes me wonder. Buck does 5160 I like it. Holds a decent edge and takes use well. My okc doesn’t get that takening hair off sharp and dulls fast. Seems like the edge roll right before it gets popping sharp.After reading reviews seems like a common issue with 5160 okc now. Thought on the heat treat being different maybe then Buck. Just a thought.OKC have been a sold company. To bad they closed their doors.
 
OKC was sold, not closed. Remains to be seen how the new owners will make their knives in the future but some of us have hope they will do right by the brand in the end.
 
I have the RTAK II and have been able to get it shaving sharp with the work sharp pro precision adjust. I haven’t used it enough to say how it compares to my other knives in 1095.
 
So far my bushcraft machete has did great. I've used it pretty hard and though to me it's a bit harder to sharpen than 1095 or 154cm hold edge good and I relatively easy to get to a polished edge.
 
Some time ago, Ontario sourced their 5160 steel from WTI, which I think is now bankrupt (keep me honest). Since then, the 5160 they have been using is at least ok. I have not had issues with it, but also have not used it extensively. I have heard that WTI had a unique process for the removal of phosphorus from the steel or at least the minimization of it. The process left with the company because steel manufacturers generally do not cater to knife makers (only a handful do).

That being said, the original SP50, from one of the first runs...was incredible! I batoned it through a nasty piece of wood with many knots. It did almost an s-curve in the log and then popped out straight, still sharp. I still have it today. I have owned almost every one of the Spec-plus Gen IIs and the SP50 is my fav. I have two of them, one older (the original) and one from a newer run, post WTI. It seems to work fine, but again have not tested it that hard.
 
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