I use 5160 because of a particular "find" I made this year.
I ended up with about 3000 feet of a dimension of steel that you can't get unless you were to have a mill make a special order run for you. I got lucky.
I can use 52100 also, it's just a little more expensive.
I forge my knives according to the philosophy that the farther you move the steel from its beginning dimension to its finished dimension, the greater the possiblity for high performance and toughness, providing specific forging temperatures and techniques are followed.
I know for a fact that there are countless knifemakers out "there" that take a 1/4" thick bar of steel, heat it up and bang a point on it, and say they "forged" the knife.
Whatever.
Very little thermal cycling has occured. Very little opportunity for grain refinement.
It takes me approximately 1 1/2 hours to forge a blade.
All of my blades are currently forged from stock that is 1" square. And, they are forged "to shape"! That includes blade spine taper, (distal taper), spine to cutting edge taper, ricasso area, guard shoulders and hidden tang.
I also got to thinking when I was in the shop and after that last post I made, that even though this might sound strange, I would not use that knife in the photo to dress an elk. Or a deer!
It would do it, and do it WELL!
I just can't imagine getting that thing bloody!
I make other knives for that.
You can't beat man-made materials for 'Every Day Carry' and hard use handles.
The point is, that EVERY knife I make is made by the formula that results in a knife that will PERFORM.
Does that make sense?
I have held a $10,000.00 knife in one hand and a $6,000.00 knife in the other.
Now, more than likely, neither one of those knives will ever cut anything. They will more than likely spend their lives in a safe.
Yet, I know the maker and I know for a fact the each one of those knives was made to extremely high tolerances and technique that you could use those knives in life-threatening situations and know that they would not let you down.
See where I'm coming from?
That knife in the photo would be for someone who has a lot more disposable income than me! I would probably put that knife on my belt and wear it to a bow shoot or something.
Put it on top of the TV for visitors to see.
But! If I had to bug-out some day and needed to grab a knife on the way out, I could grab that knife and know my life could depend on it.
I make 'em all the same.
Or they don't get sold.
Anyway, yes, 52100 is good steel.
I have a long-time knifemaking friend that always says "Jesus could send down a bar of steel from Heaven, but it's no better than the Heat Treatment it gets."
Any maker can use any kind of steel, but if he doesn't forge and heat treat it correctly, it's no better than a knife you get at a swap meet.
I need to quit rambling and head back to the shop.
