AEB-L for sword?

Phillip Patton

Phillip Patton

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Jul 25, 2005
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Hey guys,
I don't have a lot of experience yet with AEB-L, so I was wondering if any of you know what kind of toughness can be expected from this steel. You usually see people saying to avoid stainless for swords because they aren't as tough as carbon steels, but AEB-L is hypoeutectoid, with no carbides. So I was wondering how it would hold up?

Of course, it's only available in thin sheet, but that's not too big an obstacle.

Thanks,
 
No idea for swords, I would kill to find it in any thicker than 1/8" though for that very reason. In the knives Ive made in it, it has exceeded any stainless ive used as far as toughness as well as stain resistance is concerned. Didnt hold an edge as long as others but two swipes on a strop and razor sharp was back, blew my mind. I also noticed whereas cpm154 chipped at same hardness, aebl rolled. I was impressed.

Personally would take AEBL over any stainless in just about any application because its fine carbide size and medium carbon content it behaves more like O1/52100/10xx which are some of my favorites.

Love to know if you found a source for thicker than 1/8" for said sword though.
 
Hi Phillip,

It should do fine, but as I stated in the other thread 12c27 or 12c27m would be even better choices. They are tougher, and while they don't get the high hardness and fine edge stability of AEB-L, and give up some of it's wear resistance, those seem to be less important than toughness in a sword.

Here is a video of a AEBL machete in use (the Viper one):
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gavko+viper

Also, if you do youtube, I would PM knivesandstuff on youtube and ask to see his video with his AEBL machete. He thoroughly abused one with good results, but I believe the video is private now.
 
I have seen high toughness in Elmax, which is stainless. I don't know how it would compare to AEB-L, but to me it appears similar to A2, better than D2, not quite 3V. It might be worth looking at.
 
Thanks for all the input, guys! Looks like I'll have to try it sometime.

Here's another question. 440A looks to be very similar to AEB-L chemistry-wise. So why is AEB-L so popular, but 440A gets so much hate?
 
440A is considered a "cheap" stainless and suffers from correspondingly lackluster heat treatments. That said, I've had 440A swords break on rotten wood. I avoid stainless in swords, with the possible exception of 420J2 or similar. It won't hold an edge very long, but I don't have to pull Matrix type moves to avoid that broken tip coming at my chest.
 
Elmax is good stuff indeed. The only real problem with it is availability. It remains to be seen if it can withstand the shock that could be generated in such a large piece... I don't know of anyone who's made a blade that long out of Elmax.

AEB-L is good stuff, too... and a helluva lot less expensive and much easier to get. On paper it looks like an excellent choice for a very large blade (tough, fine-grained, etc). In my head, I think of it as a simple carbon steel that just happens to have a boat-load of corrosion-resistance. There are folks who have great success laminating it with other alloys to make stainless damascus for kitchen blades, so in theory a skilled smith could lam up pieces thick enough for swords.

440A vs. AEB-L... that's an interesting question, to which I don't have a real answer. :confused: As me2 said, the "hate" may be due to crappy HT; I don't know. If you can get 440A in the thickness you want for this project, I'd say go for it and test it out with the very best HT you can develop.
 
I use AEBL in hard use machetes. I think its every bit as tough as a carbon steel like 1070. It would make a fine sword steel if it came in thicker stock. ELMAX Is a very tough stainless as well that has great edge holding but its very expensive and in my personal testing I dont think high carbide air hardening steels can take bends as well as lower alloy steels or traditional carbon steels like L6 or 52100.
 
I think me2 nailed it as to why 440A is considered cheap...because of the companies that produce it and the way they produce it.

Also, today's knife buyers seem obsessed with "newness" and letters in the name. Something along the likes of, "S90V is better than S30V, which we all knew was made to be better than 440C, and well, 440C has to be better than 440A", but unfortunately most of that ignores reality and appropriate context.

Roman Landes uses 440A for his hunting blades when he wants a steel with more abrasive wear that responds better to a coarse edge finish. Here's a link to a thread where he talks about 440A in general: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/351415-440A-performance
 
440A has more chrome than AEB-L. Having about the same amount of carbon but more chrome makes it less similar than you'd think.

As Camber said, 12C27 might be a little tougher. It's close to AEB-L. Admiral Steel has it in .100, .157, and .192 thickness. They also carry 13C26 (nearly identical to AEB-L) in .130 thickness.
 
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