Kevin, what is your overall opinion of using 52100 for knife blades? ...
...The reason that I'm asking about this is that even though 52100 seems to be a very flexible steel in it's heat treating potential, because of my rather basic heat treating equipment, I'm wondering if I would be better off sticking with something like 9260.
Doug
Wow, this place is dead for weeks and then comes alive in a day. Perhaps it not just here that it is such a cold rainy Saturday that one can’t force themselves out to the shop, I’m freezing even indoors.
My opinion is just that- opinion. I don’t put too much stock in pure opinion so I would have a hard time asking others to regard mine differently. I have found steels that give me what I want for my purposes that aren’t nearly as quirky. I do consider it a simple steel (1.4% Cr is not much in alloying when compared to say L6, which name comes from “Low alloy”), and yet for such a simple steel it is quirky as all get out if you don’t work it by its rather finicky rules. I mostly use 52100 for metallographic studies because one can so easily produce so many of the problematic issues with it. It is not a steel well matched for simple equipment not capable of holding tight temperature tolerances, and this is evident in all of the odd assortment of unique heat treatments bladesmiths have come up with to make it perform. Part of this may be because it is so specialized in its design and purpose as a bearing steel, bringing out properties for a knife requires altering the treatments that it was designed for as bearings.
It is a high strength, abrasion resistant, alloy, thus its dominant hypereutectoid nature, so it would naturally work best in fine slicers and cutters where fine edge holding is desirable. To force it into a large chopper that requires high toughness would be sacrificing it finest qualities. So I would say if you want to make skinners, scalpels, razors etc… learning to work with it may be worth the trouble, if you want to make machetes, bowies, camp knives etc… and you like the 9260, then go for it.
I am a strong proponent of the idea of not juggling so many steels that you never really get the hang of any of them. Sticking with a steel and really getting to know is the most direct route to success, but that has to be tempered with the knowledge that one steel cannot serve all functions. So I think it is advisable that at the very least you choose two, one for fine edge stability and one for tough chopping and cleaving. The two you choose should probably best match your ability to meet their heat treating demands.
I guess that would be my best educated opinion.