52100 is almost 5160, but with just a little extra carbon (1.0 vs .60)which gives it the edge in wear resistance, but it's not quite a flexible as a trade off. Other than that they are pretty much the same steel.
while they are very similar they sure the hell dont sharpen the same.
i think 5160 sharpens way more like 1095 than 52100 even though 5160 and 52100 are almost the same.
