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If your just venturing into the realm of alloy/tool steels, I would recommend 5160 or O-1. Everything is going to depend on your heat treating methods, but in general both of these steels are forgiving enough that you can make minor errors in the heat treating and still come out with a great blade. O-1 is going to be more brittle, but it will achieve a higher hardness. On the other side of the coin, 5160 will be tougher than all get out, but will not achieve the high hardness that O-1 does. In the end it's all about knowing the steel and how to heat treat it to your desired characteristics.
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