AEB-L at 57-59 HRC

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Kirk_Ferentz

Joined
Feb 16, 2010
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Nutshell version of the question is whether AEB-L at 57-59 HRC is going to perform like a "stainless 52100" in terms of edge retention, toughness, sharpen-ability, etc.

Longer version is that I have always been a big fan of a good 52100. It hits the balance I want for an outdoors knife: takes and holds an edge better than, say, 1095 and is tough but can be sharpened relatively easily in the field (very important to me). I've been considering a new blade in A2 to take with me on backpacking trips; I think I'd have one less thing to worry (a little less) about if I'm caught in a downpour or something. But then I started reading great reviews of AEB-L, calling it the "stainless 52100". I've been looking at some LT Wright knives in that steel and see that their AEB-L blades are hardened to 57-59 HRC, while AEB-L is often hardened to 60+ HRC. I wonder whether the "stainless 52100" moniker still applies at 57-59 HRC.

I did a decent amount of searching of previous threads and didn't come away with a ton of info. Thanks in advance for your feedback.
 
AEB-L seems to be slightly tougher and a little more wear resistant than 52100 at the same hardness. The beauty of it though is that it stays relatively tough even at higher hardness at this point it has very good edge stability. At 57-59 it should be as good as 52100 at the same, but some of the performance is left on the table.

https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/03/04/all-about-aeb-l/
 
AEB-L is extremely tough due to the fine grain structure.
I think it would perform a bit better if hardened to 60HRC+. But I'm sure it will perform great for you at that hardness.

The lower hardness may be tougher. And like superpog superpog said it's likely to prevent many warranty problems. It's likely a bit easier to sharpen than at 60HRC. But it's an easy steel to sharpen anyways. You will enjoy the steel. It gets super sharp with little effort.
 
I worked with and used AEBL quite a bit and feel that at the Hardness, your really not getting the best from your steel. AEBL seems to shine at 60-61 RC as has been mentioned. Lower than that and (to me) it seemed like the edge wasn't as keen, didn't take as sharp an edge and lost it much quicker.
 
I may be off, but from the top of my head, VG10 and AEB-L can be run as hard as 62 HRC. I have some kitchen knives with a 62 HRC VG10 core. They are great knives and need very little sharpening. I have also AEB-L everyday knives which perform equally well : easy to sharpen and not often. But I'm a mild user. I probably just met the steels that are best for my use.
 
I use as much AEB-L as anyone, probably. I've used it from small EDC slicers, to hunting knives to bowies and lots of kitchen knives and lots of leatherworking knives. At 57-59RC its meh. All my AEB-L blades run at 63RC. They cut like the dickens, stay sharp for a long time and are very easy to resharpen. I make my own leather knives too, all out of AEB-L @ 63RC These guys in my shop are used very hard, often cutting out sheaths, holsters, rifle scabbards etc 6-8 hours at a time. Literally the one tool that is never put away, my roundknives are always on the bench. I might sharpen every couple of months maybe. But I do strop often and they stay hair splittling. Couple little vids to show ya what I'm talking about:

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByG1yFLFWnh/

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByG368alGVn/

I use lots of AEB-L:

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Lots. I've heard nothing but glowing reports back. Folks keeping buying these knives. Most of my knives are sold to working cowboys, ranchers etc and they use stuff hard. It works well.
 
That would be a definite improvement over VG10 (which can be chippy at 62 HRC) and Shirogami at same HRC (Hitachi white) which is not that long lasting.
 
Kirk_Ferentz said:
Thanks ace. Do you think it has the benefit of being easier/quicker to sharpen at the lower hardness?
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Probably easier to sharpen, but it is very easy to sharpen when harder too. Look at it this way, AEB-L is tougher at 62 than Elmax at 57 or cpm154 at 60 even at 63 it is almost twice as tough as s35vn at 61. On the other hand it is not very wear resistant, so if kept soft slicing edge holding won’t be great. It is a very cool steel when you want high edge stability, corrosion resistance and ease of sharpening, but for that you need it hard to increase wear resistance and increase resistance to deformation/rolling plus it can handle acute angles. Your question though was if AEB-L is stainless 52100 and in a way it is. It performs in the same range as 52100 at similar hardness, a little tougher a little more wear resistant and a lot more corrosion resistant.
 
Hardest AEB-L I've ever seen
Heat treated by @Larrin
65rc

The edge isn't chippy either.

This steel works best when used harder for knives designed to cut.
62rc and up





POEBufd.jpg
 
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It really depends on how you're going to use your outdoor knife. I gave up on my AEB-L kitchen knife at 60-61 Rc because it didn't hold an edge as well as my other kitchen knives. Yes, it does sharpen easily and the fine grain gives a good edge.

If it's important to you to field sharpen the knife, you'll have to carry a stone with you. Why not make that stone a diamond stone so you can sharpen any steel easily, especially if it has a thin edge or microbevel? A number of stainless steels will give you better edge wear -- some much better. If you use the edge enough to have to resharpen it, you won't have to resharpen it as much with more wear-resistant steels.

But AEB-L would be good for a chopper or a hard-use outdoor knife.
 
What's your go to kitchen knife right now?

Twindog said:
It really depends on how you're going to use your outdoor knife. I gave up on my AEB-L kitchen knife at 60-61 Rc because it didn't hold an edge as well as my other kitchen knives. Yes, it does sharpen easily and the fine grain gives a good edge.

If it's important to you to field sharpen the knife, you'll have to carry a stone with you. Why not make that stone a diamond stone so you can sharpen any steel easily, especially if it has a thin edge or microbevel? A number of stainless steels will give you better edge wear -- some much better. If you use the edge enough to have to resharpen it, you won't have to resharpen it as much with more wear-resistant steels.

But AEB-L would be good for a chopper or a hard-use outdoor knife.
Click to expand...
 
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DeadboxHero said:
What's your go to kitchen knife right now?
Click to expand...

I switch off between a Harukaze Gyuto (high wear Aogami Super core at 63 Rc with stainless cladding) and a lower wear 440C custom chef's knife with excellent ergonomics.

In a couple months, I hope to get a super thin Vanax SC (0.065 stock and 0.007 edge) at 61 Rc with ergos like the 440C chef's knife.

My Vanax EDC (60 Rc and 0.015 inch edge) cuts so well that I wanted to try it on a kitchen knife. When I effortlessly sliced through some thick rope tying down a tractor using my EDC (no sawing), the mechanic just stared at the knife. "I want to see that knife," he said. I love Vanax.
 
Twindog said:
It really depends on how you're going to use your outdoor knife. I gave up on my AEB-L kitchen knife at 60-61 Rc because it didn't hold an edge as well as my other kitchen knives. Yes, it does sharpen easily and the fine grain gives a good edge.

If it's important to you to field sharpen the knife, you'll have to carry a stone with you. Why not make that stone a diamond stone so you can sharpen any steel easily, especially if it has a thin edge or microbevel? A number of stainless steels will give you better edge wear -- some much better. If you use the edge enough to have to resharpen it, you won't have to resharpen it as much with more wear-resistant steels.

But AEB-L would be good for a chopper or a hard-use outdoor knife.
Click to expand...
I have a lot of experience with AEB-L in kitchen knives and it is all relative. For kitchen knives AEB-L at 63 and above works extremely well, but much depends on your cutting board, technique and expectations. People love white 2 for kitchen knives too, and it is significantly less tough and less wear resistant than AEB-L, so it depends. In kitchen knives sharpness is very important so you want as acute of an angle as the steel can handle without bending or chipping. AEB-L at 63-65 performs great in this role when bone contact is not an issue. In general, kitchen knives are some of the hardest knives to design well, geometry, balance, profile, size and weight come before the steel. I am talking about kitchen knives that get used by professionals in busy kitchens, a home cook can use anything and get away with it, but when someone has to cut a lot for hours on end, then the small differences come out. For example kitchen knives get used and sharpened so much that they have to be thinned to preserve geometry and keep them cutting well. This is something that noone talks about in the folder or outdoor knife world.

At the moment I really like z-wear/PD 1/cpm-cruwear class steels around 63 hrc for kitchen knives. This class seems to be well balanced for this application. 1.2562 @ 64-65 is also very good, but in both cases I would prefer these steels to be a core steel in a San Mai construction with softer clading, because when it comes to thinning I wouldn't want to do it by hand on mono steel knives made out of these.
 
You might like that Vanax too ace ace


Alpha Knife Supply Alpha Knife Supply any of the thicker ~.160" Vanax coming back?

ace said:
I have a lot of experience with AEB-L in kitchen knives and it is all relative. For kitchen knives AEB-L at 63 and above works extremely well, but much depends on your cutting board, technique and expectations. People love white 2 for kitchen knives too, and it is significantly less tough and less wear resistant than AEB-L, so it depends. In kitchen knives sharpness is very important so you want as acute of an angle as the steel can handle without bending or chipping. AEB-L at 63-65 performs great in this role when bone contact is not an issue. In general, kitchen knives are some of the hardest knives to design well, geometry, balance, profile, size and weight come before the steel. I am talking about kitchen knives that get used by professionals in busy kitchens, a home cook can use anything and get away with it, but when someone has to cut a lot for hours on end, then the small differences come out. For example kitchen knives get used and sharpened so much that they have to be thinned to preserve geometry and keep them cutting well. This is something that noone talks about in the folder or outdoor knife world.

At the moment I really like z-wear/PD 1/cpm-cruwear class steels around 63 hrc for kitchen knives. This class seems to be well balanced for this application. 1.2562 @ 64-65 is also very good, but in both cases I would prefer these steels to be a core steel in a San Mai construction with softer clading, because when it comes to thinning I wouldn't want to do it by hand on mono steel knives made out of these.
Click to expand...
 
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