52100

E

Erdbeereis

Well-Known Member
How easy is 52100 to grind? Would it be a good steel for kitchen and bushcraft knives or would 1095 be better for the bushcraft ones? I was planning on sending the blades to Peter's for HT so I wouldn't have to worry about that.
 
In my limited experience, 52100 takes the cake if you're outsourcing your heat treat. So far, I've had one bar of 52100 that was a pain to grind but today I did 5 blades that gave almost no resistance and felt more like 1084. Since everyone else seems to have such an easy time grinding 52100 from Aldo and McMaster, I'll chalk my "tough grind 52100" up, to the use of a less than ideal belt. Hopefully someone with more experience can chime in for both our sake. :)
 
I have used 52100 in both hunters and chefs knives, The chefs I had done by Peters due to the thinness of the blades (.80) They ROCK! Peters does a great job, and RC tests each blade. Mine came in at 62-63 rc. I have not got any experience in using it for a chopper, so I cant speak for that application, I would look into how shock resistant 52100 is. Ed Caffery along with others use it a lot, hopefully they will comment. My favorite for heavy use knives is still 5160.

God Bless
Mike
 
There is no ideal hardness for a "kitchen knife" as each blade has a specific task that demands different things to be considered. For example a paper that is used mainly to peel fruits and veggies can be mid sixties (if possible of the steel) while a chef's knife needs to be in the lower end (60-64) given its use in a wider array of cutting tasks. On that same note, a cleaver that is meat to go through bone would need to be less brittle and tougher which (more often than not) means a lower HRC (mid to high 50's). So along with intended use, you also must take geometry into account. Currently I'm working on a batch of 52100 kitchen knives in 1/8" (with a full distal taper and full flat grind with a convex edge), they will be small gyutos intended for general cutting so my target hardness for these will be 63hrc.

Again, I also suggest that you visit http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com . They have a wealth of information in their FAQ and Sticky section that could really help you.
 
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