6150 Questions

[Burchtree]

I acquired a chunk of 6150 and forged it out into a drop-point. I used the same heat-treating specs as 5160 and so far, it seems decent. Has anyone else played with this steel, and how did you think it performed?

 

[rlinger]

Michael, It is a medium high carbon steel. Its' carbon content is less than that of 5160 but has more chromium and some vanadium. Expect a absolute maximum as quenched hardness of 60 HRc but more reasonably less than that.
Properly tempered the hardness would be on the low end of acceptability, I would guess.

RL

 

[Greg Covington]

I have never used it but I had always heard from others to just treat it like 5160 and you would be fine with it......as long as it cuts well....dont worry about it.

 

[Burchtree]

I think I'll do some more testing with it. It seems to cut just fine and hold it's edge great. It sure forged nice, like moving a stick of butter.

 

[peter nap]

Michael, Rodger hit it on the head as usual. As usual, I'm going to be a little unconventional.

We as knife makers, sometimes use hardness as the ultimate benchmark. I happen to disagree in part with this mindset. Many of the finest older (pre Civil War) knives in my collection are soft by todays standards. They do have to be touched up often but it is easy to do and maintain a razor edge.

This would not be my first choice in steel but would be far from my last.