Admiral Steel

fastcamo

fastcamo

Joined
Nov 26, 2006
Messages
444
Is the only place I can find anything close to L6 (so they say), except I have to question their shipping prices, when McMaster is 1/3 of the shipping cost for a heavier and bigger piece of steel, and that does not sit right with me.
anyone have a line on L6 in flat stock form?
 
they sent me 8670m selling me and billing me for L6...had to pay for analysis to identify the alloy in 20 blades, after they would not harden on L6 heat treat spec. They ignored my request for the steel I ordered and paid for. 8670m is great but warps in heat treat much more than L6, also much less marketable.
 
You're lost. Let’s see if we can find the right forum …
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The L6 alternative is 8670M, not true L6. You can get L6 from either Crucible Service Centers or Carpenter Steel, but you can't be picky about dimensions (think big;)). Let's be nice about the stuff offered by Admiral, if you know what it is and how to work it, it is really a nice steel, if we rag on them too hard they may not offer it anymore. This last bit is because of selfish reasons, I have occasional projects that require a true L6 alternative and I would hate to lose a source when I need it.
 
wnease,

I'm kind of curious why you feel 8670M is much harder to market than L6? Most of what passes for L6, especially in damascus, isn't. Seems like most folks who score a blade of any kind from a sawmill tout it as L6, and that hasn't been for a long time. Since thee really isn't much true L6 being used, why is there a problem with 8570M?

Thanks,

Gene
 
I have found admiral less than pleasant to deal with and they are much more expensive to buy steel from than Aldo or Kelly Cupples. Now that I can get 15N20, and I'm getting 1084 from Aldo, with any luck I will not have to deal with Admiral for a LONG time.

-Page
 
I'm gonna jump on the band wagon and say I'm not dealing with admiral after last week. I ordered 3/16" cpm 154. I got .225". Way bigger than I wanted and can't get anyone who gives a shit at admiral to help me out. Needless to say I went to a machine shop to see what it would take to get it surface ground that was going to be 160 bucks.

Sorry for the hijack but I do agree their shipping prices aren't reasonable, and no I don't know where to buy L6
 
Ryan, that sounds about right, to be honest. 3/16" (.186) is the nominal size, considered the finished size after surfacing. All of the CPM154 (and other CPM alloys) comes substantially oversized so approx 20thou can be removed from each side and get to clean, pit-free steel.

Don't construe that as an endorsement of Admiral. They're 35 miles away from me and I'll still not deal with them.
 
Fastcamo have you tried alphaknifesupply? He has l6 listed in rod form, but I got an inventory list yesterday or the day before that I can't find. I could have swore I saw some more l6 on it. You might try calling them and seeing if they have it. I checked my email and can't find the list or I'd know for sure.

I've ordered some from other places and had it slightly oversize which wasn't a big deal. Most of the time the size advertised with any other place is nearly dead on. I got one piece down to 3/16" or a hair under with the grinder and granite plate. It still has pits down both sides that could swallow a truck. I see what you're saying fitzo just sucks it wasn't advertised that way. Then to have customer service that doesn't care is even worse.
 
Ryan Minchew said:
I see what you're saying fitzo just sucks it wasn't advertised that way. Then to have customer service that doesn't care is even worse.
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Amen to that, Ryan. They have driven me nuts in the past trying to get past the incompetency, which is why I won't deal with them. Unless one gets a chance to speak directly to Terry Summers, it is like dealing with circus clowns or asylum residents. And recently I read that Terry is no longer there??

I buy my steel from Chuck at Alpha KS nowadays. You can read the actual sizes on his listing, and understand what the nominal "fractional" size is supposed to be once cleaned up. Not to mention it's nicely sheared and doesn't look like a sidewinder rattler when you buy the long bars Admiral likes to sell.
 
fitzo said:
I buy my steel from Chuck at Alpha KS nowadays. You can read the actual sizes on his listing, and understand what the nominal "fractional" size is supposed to be once cleaned up. Not to mention it's nicely sheared and doesn't look like a sidewinder rattler when you buy the long bars Admiral likes to sell.
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I've only ordered from Chuck 2 times. The first time he called apologizing that he had sold what I wanted before I got a hold of him. Second time I odered from him was Saturday while I was trying to find steel to fix Admiral's stuff. He was more than happy to answer any questions I had and had a couple recommendations for me. He'll be getting the majority of my business now just because he made 2 phone calls to me. First company I've ever had do that. I do recommend calling him about the l6 he has a pretty good steel inventory.
 
Chuck is a good man. It is a family business, and their service will always be excellent.
 
The last time, and it is the last time, I dealt with Admiral they double charged me. After bringing it to their attention it took 6 weeks and the threat of contacting my card company to get it resolved.

Pass, thank you.

I have a little L6. It's in 1 1/2" round bar 4" long from Cincinnati Tool and Die, IIRC. It has to be flattened out, but it's real L6.

Gene
 
Well I didn't get to read some of your comments till after I found out we already placed the order, and I guess it looks like it will be their alternative steel to L6 coming, should I heat treat it more on the lines of 5160 ya think? as it looks shipping it back isn't an option after that shipping charge that we already paid. And thanks for the info so far guys.

Paul
 
fitzo said:
Ryan, that sounds about right, to be honest. 3/16" (.186) is the nominal size, considered the finished size after surfacing. All of the CPM154 (and other CPM alloys) comes substantially oversized so approx 20thou can be removed from each side and get to clean, pit-free steel.
Click to expand...

Yup!
Ryan,
I prefer closer to .050 oversized. After you do all the profiling/drilling,machining, heat treat, etc. you grind to actual thickness. That way surface damage in HT or minor warpage issues are essentially irrelevant.

I try (hah!) to do things in such a way as to increase the likelihood of repeatable success. Buying your material oversized and surface grinding AFTER profiling/machining and HT is definitely a step toward maintaining your sanity. :)
 
JCaswell said:
Yup!
Ryan,
I prefer closer to .050 oversized. After you do all the profiling/drilling,machining, heat treat, etc. you grind to actual thickness. That way surface damage in HT or minor warpage issues are essentially irrelevant.

I try (hah!) to do things in such a way as to increase the likelihood of repeatable success. Buying your material oversized and surface grinding AFTER profiling/machining and HT is definitely a step toward maintaining your sanity. :)
Click to expand...

As for the sanity I think I lost that when I got into knifemaking :D I've just never bought steel this oversized. I've been buying from other people though and that may be the reason. It wouldn't bother me so much if I had a surface grinder that's one of those wish list items that I hope is coming up soon.
 
Gene Martin said:
wnease,

I'm kind of curious why you feel 8670M is much harder to market than L6? Most of what passes for L6, especially in damascus, isn't. Seems like most folks who score a blade of any kind from a sawmill tout it as L6, and that hasn't been for a long time. Since thee really isn't much true L6 being used, why is there a problem with 8570M?

Thanks,

Gene
Click to expand...

Some very excellent points you make in this post Gene!:thumbup: When scores of guys sell little damascus blades for $$$$$ telling folks it has L6 in it when all they really know about it is what the piece of scrap was that they cut it from, we have little ground to stand on in faulting Admiral for an L6 alternative.
 
I used to buy lots of steel from Admiral with little trouble, dealing with Terry Summers, been a few years though. Sorry to hear about the decline there.

Now I just use W2 and 1084/15n20 for damascus. Aldo for 1084 and Kelly Couples for 15N20, these guys have done right by me :thumbup:
 
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