Properties of Carbon Steel

The following information is taken from The Complete Bladesmith by Jim Hrisoulas. We use olive oil as a quench for these steels, it works well, smells nice, is non-toxic and reduces your cholesterol.

10-Series Steel

The 10-series are perhaps the most usable of the available alloys for bladesmithing. They are very stable and quite easy to form under the hammer. The following allows contain the following percentages of carbon and manganese:

1055

Carbon: 0.48 to 0.55
Manganese: 0.60 to 0.90

1075

Carbon: 0.65 to 0.75
Manganese : 0.60 to 0.90

 

Wear Resistance: Medium
Toughness: high to medium depending on the carbon content
Red Hardness: very low
Distortion in heat treating: very low
Forging: Start at 950 to 1010C
Austenite forging: Yes
Hardening: 790 to 840C
Quench: Oil
Tempering: 150 to 260C
RC Hardness: 62 to 55, depending upon carbon content

 

15N20 (L6)

15N20 (or L6) is a low alloy steel usually used in large saw blades and such. It is a very good steel but is somewhat red-hard due to the vanadium content. 15N20 has the following characteristics:

Carbon: 0.70 to 0.90%
Chromium: 0.03%
Manganese : 0.35 to 0.55%
Nickle: 1.4 to 2.6%
Phosphorus: 0.025%
Silicon: 0.25%
Sulphur: 0.01% maximum
Vanadium: 0.15%
Wear Resistance: Medium
Toughness: very high
Red Hardness: low
Distortion in heat treating: low
Forging: Start at 980 to 1090C
Austenite forging: Yes
Hardening: 790 to 840C
Quench: Oil
Tempering: 150 to 260C
RC Hardness: 63 to 55

 

5160

5160 is a medium carbon "spring steel" that has excellent toughness and high durability. It is quite flexible, resists heavy shocks well, and is well suited for swords, axes, really large bowies and other blades where a larger flexible blade is desired. 5160 has the following characteristics.

Carbon: 0.56 to 0.64%
Chromium: 0.70 to 0.90%
Manganese : 0.75 to 1.00%
Phosphorus: 0.035% maximum
Silicon: 0.15 to 0.35%
Sulphur: 0.04% maximum
Wear Resistance: High medium
Toughness: high
Red Hardness: low
Distortion in heat treating: low
Forging: Start at 980 C
Austenite forging: Yes
Hardening: 790 to 840C
Quench: Oil
Tempering: 150 to 260C
RC Hardness: 62 to 55

Upcoming Courses

Sat Aug 07 @09:30 - 03:00PM
Father and Son Blacksmithing (SOLD OUT)
Sun Aug 29 @08:00 - 05:00PM
Damascus Introduction (TWO PLACES LEFT)
Fri Sep 24 @19:00 - 05:00PM
Folding Knives (TWO PLACES LEFT)
Thu Oct 07 @19:30 - 09:30PM
Sharpening
Fri Oct 08 @19:00 - 05:00PM
Knifemaking (SOLD OUT)
Sun Oct 10 @08:00 - 05:00PM
Damascus Introduction (TWO PLACES LEFT)
Fri Oct 22 @19:00 - 05:00PM
Knifemaking (TWO PLACES LEFT)
Thu Nov 25 @19:30 - 09:30PM
Sharpening
Fri Nov 26 @19:00 - 05:00PM
Knifemaking (ONE PLACE LEFT)
Sun Nov 28 @08:00 - 05:00PM
Damascus Introduction (TWO PLACES LEFT)

Metal Weight Calculator

 

 Alloy:
 Shape:
 Number of Pieces:

 Enter size information:

Calculated Weights
Apx. weight in kg 
Apx. weight in lbs
  
Notes: If Square or Flat Bar, Sheet or Plate is selected:
Enter Width1, Width2 and Length.
Notes:   2.2046 lb = 1 kg    1 m = 1000 mm    1 in = 25.4 mm    kg = kilogram    lb = pound
mm = millimeter    yd = yard    1 metric ton = 2204.6 lb    1 USA ton = 2000 lb