Admiral Steel ATS-34

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Sando

Sando

Knife Maker
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Jul 4, 2002
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Just wanted to put in a plug for Admiral. I recently bought a batch of ATS34 in 3/32". They say that "1/16, 3/32, & 5/32 are cold rolled annealed with a smooth, clean finish."

They weren't lying. It is very smooth and soft. No reason to buy precision ground. (OK if you need a specific size or just 'cause. But it's very good for most of us.) No pits and things. Hardly any 'surface' grinding to get a good finish.

This might not be news you most of you, but it was a happy discovery to me.

Steve
 
Steve,
I'm glad you had good luck cause I've had some bad with them. Not as much the steel as the ordering side of it, and the horseshoe shaped stuff that arrived. That was awhile back and I should order from them again, I guess.
 
Admiral S30V comes in a new sidewinder configuration with a curve every 10-12 inches. They didn't seem to care when I bellyached.

Straight from Crucible in shorter lengths next time.
 
I am curious if it will have the 'orangepeel' effect in the steel, when you try to final finish it. That is a major complaint of ATS34 from Admiral.:eek:
 
You guys really should be nicer to vendors. Maybe they would be nicer to you ;)

I've placed at least 4 orders with them. Always, prompt and in good shape - straight, clean, well packaged.

Mike: I'm very interested in this 'orange peel' Are you talking about the final, final finish? I am getting what I would call a strong grain pattern when you hold it just right in the light. It's nice and consistent. I'm not doing a mirror finish so I probably don't care. Actually I kinda liked it. But now I'll have to see if there is an effect on cutting.

I've ordered from Crucible twice, waited for weeks on end and NEVER got what I wanted.

Steve

Here's the story: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=225273&highlight=s30v+steve

BTW I did finally finish the paring knife.
 
Steve,
I was nice to them. Was probably the first of the makers to order from them. That was years ago. They should have been nice to us. You'd be shocked to see some of the stuff I received:(
I'm just waiting them out until enough other makers order and get them straight, before I order again.
 
Originally posted by Sando

Mike: I'm very interested in this 'orange peel' Are you talking about the final, final finish? I am getting what I would call a strong grain pattern when you hold it just right in the light. It's nice and consistent. I'm not doing a mirror finish so I probably don't care. Actually I kinda liked it. But now I'll have to see if there is an effect on cutting.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's it. The makers that really dislike it are those that mirror polish.
I don't think it makes much difference in a satin finished blade, and doubt if it would affect the cutting ability.:D
 
I've ordered from Admiral with mixed results. Once I ordered 440C and O1 - they made me talk to two people and sent two separate orders! :rolleyes: Because they are organized around the type of steel.

On the other hand, the packaging was pretty sufficient - I literally had to use a hand saw to open the tube! I was angry and sweating by the time I got my steel out, but it was nice and straight. ;)

But now that I've simplified my life by sticking to O1, Tool and Die is super for me - cheap, fast and accurate. Doesn't get much better than that.
 
Tru Grit is a good place to buy from. Good prices, and people.
Their website is in the process of being redone, so you'll have to call them.
1-800-532-3336
 
Second on trugrit. I've bought from them too. Very nice people. I might have to try their precision ground stuff too. (I wonder if they grind S30V yet?)

RE: orange peel.

Really the pattern is cool. It reminds me of the wooz pictures I see. I wonder what causes it? Something in the cold rolled process????

Also I wonder if I re-anneal it if it would have an effect.

Hmmm....

Steve
 
Originally posted by Kit Carson
Steve,
I was nice to them. Was probably the first of the makers to order from them. That was years ago. They should have been nice to us. You'd be shocked to see some of the stuff I received:(
I'm just waiting them out until enough other makers order and get them straight, before I order again.
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Damn, Kit they had SS back in the 1800's????? :confused: :eek: :D :p
 
BTW,

The when I order knife steels I get the same guy. I think they have a full timer just for blade guys, now.

Also, since the 3/16+ sizes of ATS34 are hot rolled, I wonder if they have the same 'orange peel'.

Steve
 
I got my first S30V from Crucible and was over charged. I got my second S30V from Pop. It looks just fine. Its still expensive regardless of where it comes from.

I got my ATS-34 from Sheffield. They may have had it dropped shipped (can't remember enough to be sure) and it is just fine and shines up well.

RL
 
Originally posted by Sando
BTW,

The when I order knife steels I get the same guy. I think they have a full timer just for blade guys, now.

Also, since the 3/16+ sizes of ATS34 are hot rolled, I wonder if they have the same 'orange peel'.

Steve
Click to expand...


That would be Terry Summers, I think.:D

On the HRA, I don't know. There was a long thread at CKD a year or two ago about the orange peel effect of ATS-34, plus many complaints of inclusions in the same steel, and 440C, from Admiral.
I hope they have the inclusion problem cleared up. They must, as I sure haven't heard much about it lately.
 
I recently ordered some ATS-34 from Admiral. When the UPS guy brought it up to the house I refused it - the packing tube was broke in half and the steel was bent. That was on a Friday and by Monday Terry Summers called me and apoligised and had the new stuff on the way. Said he would take care of everything and he appreciated my business.

Granted I am not a high volume buyer, but so far - so good.
 
Originally posted by T. Hendrickson
i wonder how is the hot rolled compared to the cra-ats34?
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It's a bear to get the bark off of it. It's worse than case hardening.
But, once that's done, it's probably just like the CRA to work.
 
Kit Carson said:
Steve,
I was nice to them. Was probably the first of the makers to order from them. That was years ago. They should have been nice to us. You'd be shocked to see some of the stuff I received:(
I'm just waiting them out until enough other makers order and get them straight, before I order again.
Click to expand...
I was wondering if Admiral has straightened out the issues with ATS-34 yet? A while back, people were telling "horror stories" about the ATS-34 from Admiral and I just decided to hold off on buying ATS-34. I heard the problem was straight from Hitachi, something about not being able to give a uniform heat when making the steel and the steel ended up with problems. I figured, that's what you get if you get a steel that's really mass produced, and from what I've heard it sort of happens every other batch or so (meaning even if you get perfect quality this time, next time it might be a bad batch again). And I'm afraid I haven't bothered reading up on it since I've heard of those problems, so have those problems been fixed yet?
 
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