what mild steel to use with 5160 to make damascus

[rotor]

ive seen it done in blade magizine 5160and mild steel just need to know what to use for the mild steel and how dose the mild steel affect the cutting edge.
thanks Russ Scheringer

 

[Ed Caffrey]

In a word DON'T. 5160 is great stuff when used as a straight steel, and is even very good when mixed with a high carbon steel such as 1084/1095. Mixing it with mild steel might give you some interesting contrasts, but with only 60 points of carbon to start with, I would consider it a very poor choice to mate with mild steel. If your intent on doing it, get yourself some 1018. Don't let the local steel yard fool you, they often try to pass off A-36 hot roll as 1018. Unless I completly trust whomever sells/gives me steel, I insist on an analysis sheet.

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Ed Caffrey "The Montana Bladesmith"
ABS Mastersmith
www.caffreyknives.com

 

[Howard Clark]

I'm with Ed on this one, don't do it. You reaslly should have more carbn to work with, unless you want to use it as hardware, and not as a blade steel.

If you use equal parts of two steels, take the carbon content of each, add them together, then divide by two. This will give you a number that represents how much carbon is available to begin with in the mix. There will be some loss in process (how much varies with your methods and tools).

5160= .6%C
1018= .18%C
total = .78
divided by two =.39%C at best, and this assumes no carbon loss in process. Result is not good steel for making blades, though it would make a knife if you quenched it fast enough then didn't temper it much if at all.

Use something else with more carbon for the other steel. I suggest L-6.