AEBL pre-HT - Bendy?

Brock Cutlery

Brock Cutlery

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Jan 10, 2015
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I just finished grinding a 6 inch by 2 kitchen knife in AEBL and stayed right with my lines.
When I took the finished blade back to the bench to do some measurements, I could see a pretty fair bend in it.
I don't know if I knocked it somehow, or am wondering if it could have warped during the grind?
I have done two of the same profile in 440c and had no issues.
Just wondering if anyone has any insight, or if I really did knock it against something and bend it. ?
 
AEB-L can be picky in thin stock, specially . I have had some warp during pre HT grinding. Don't work it to fast or let it get to hot. Even grinding is important. Plate quench quickly and leave enough flats to keep it straight, as it grinds fairly well after hardening. On blades that are not tall in height grind after HT. Sub zero or cryo after quench, then temper. IMO
 
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Also, leave a little more edge thickness on tall blades to prevent bacon edge. .020" ish is safe as it grinds pretty easy for a martensetic stainless steel.
 
waterstoneblades said:
AEB-L can be picky in thin stock, specially . I have had some warp during pre HT grinding. Don't work it to fast or let it get to hot. Even grinding is important. Plate quench quickly and leave enough flats to keep it straight, as it grinds fairly well after hardening. On blades that are not tall in height grind after HT. Sub zero or cryo after quench, then temper. IMO
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I'll be sending it off for HT. This one is probably going to get pretty bent since I took it so thin.
Tomorrow I'll grind to .020 and send them both off and see how each does.
I was mildly agressive, but not crazy in the grind. Are you saying each side should be ground even with the other as I go?
I did tend to work one side pretty far before switching.
 
Yes, alternating sides helps. AEB-L is probably the steel that I have personally observed to warp the most when grinding. I just take mine over the straightening stump and rap it where needed with a dead blow or other soft hammer.
 
Agreed^ Just take your time with it. You can grind the cutting edge up to thicken the edge a little before sending it out. A few thou, makes a big difference .
 
I think one reason people have problems bending thin AEB-L ( same as 13C26) when grinding is they forget it really isn't like other stainless steels. It usually comes fully annealed and really soft compared to many high alloy steels.
There are no hard carbides from the alloying. It is basically 1070 with 13% chromium. Being hypo-eutectoid, the carbon all gets tied in the iron and the chromium merely makes it stainless.....no chromium carbides. Work it just like you would 1070/1084.

AEB-L is an excellent choice for profiling only, doing HT, and grinding all bevels and details in the hardened state.
 
I appreciate all the thoughts and advice, and the education Stacy.
I'll profile a couple more and send them off to HT for grinding after. Should I take off some amount of steel pre-HT?
They are pretty thin to start, but it seems like a reasonable thing to do. ?
 
If you have the chance grind it spraying some water on the belt...it really does help, either before and after HT. It's softness makes it easy to grind and sand...and straighten if/when it bends.
Great steel choice, you'll be happy :)
 
Yep I keep a spray bottle of water by the grinder. Couple sprays and you can bring several good passes without heat buildup. I grind like that without gloves to feel if it's getting hot of course. You'll feel when you are running low on belt water. Keep in mind not all before like being wet. Cork one are OK but I believe the trizact gaters are not OK with water.

I'm doing some .070 paring knives now and I get where you are coming from with bendy.
 
I don't like it at this point, but that's frustration due to learning a new steel most likely. I'm sending them off to heat treat, the one ground, the other profiled blank.
I'll give the spray bottle a try when I get it back. Seems like a lot of trouble though.
It has me wondering: I know it has great knife properties, but do most use it because it is so much less expensive than say s35vn? (and easier to HT at home...)
 
Brock, I think it is extremely popular as a stainless because it behaves like a carbon steel. Sharpening is easy, takes a razor edge very easily, and keeps it well, plus the corrosion resistance on top of it all.

I had an 8" AEB-L chef's knife that I was grinding on (actually cutting the bevels with a file). I filed one side completely (.110" stock) before switching sides...and it took a huge bend...like a banana. Ground the other side and it straightened out.

I really like the stuff for knife steel. Hard to beat in my book. Very simple chemistry, but works very well for fine edges.
 
Just straighten it out on a flat surface with a wooden mallet....then send off to HT.
 
Update:
I got back 4 blades from HT (TruGrit) and I had some varying results. I had 2 in 440c and one in AEBL. One of the 440c came back with the bacon edge. Lesson: Too thin on the pre-HT grind.
The other 440c blade had a little wobble in the edge.
The AEBL has a slight wobble. The lengthwise bend seems to have come out, but I'm not sure if TruGrit fixed that or it just normalized in HT.
I think I can save them all by taking the edge back 1/2 inch or so. Not what I want to do, but some day I will probably do that.
I also did a fillet again in CPM s30v. It had one tweak near the middle of the edge. It wasn't too bad and I was able to get most of it out. Finished grinding that down to 400.

So I also made probably one of the classic rookie errors. I forgot to drill one blade pre-HT. I plan to just put some dremel divets in the handle metal and the wood and hope epoxy will hold it together. These were all hardened as:
440c = 60
S30v = 61 (fillet)
AEBL = 62
I like working with this steel, but am going to try the s35vn next to see how that goes.
 
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If you have a Dremel, use a diamond or carbide ball burr and cut the rivet holes. The cheap sets of diamond bits from HF are good for that task. Go slow and don't let the bit get too hot or it will loose the diamond grit. Regular dunking in water is a good way to keep things cool.
 
Any steel will take a set/stay bent before HT. Whether or not it's actual warpage that happened strictly from aggressive grinding/over-heating in your case, is certainly possible too.

Brock47 said:
It has me wondering: I know it has great knife properties, but do most use it because it is so much less expensive than say s35vn? (and easier to HT at home...)
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samuraistuart said:
Brock, I think it is extremely popular as a stainless because it behaves like a carbon steel. Sharpening is easy, takes a razor edge very easily, and keeps it well, plus the corrosion resistance on top of it all.
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Yup, I like to refer to it as "the stain-resistant steel for people who don't like stainless steel". Speaking only for myself, I use AEB-L for its properties when finished. The cost difference/savings isn't great enough per blade to be a major factor for me.

As said above, when in doubt just profile/drill it, have it hardened properly, and grind your bevels after HT. It's one of the easier alloys to work with that way. Personally I grind it right to final dimension and finish before sending it out to Peters, and haven't had any trouble with it.

Oddly enough, Brad from Peter's told me that he really dislikes HT'ing 13c26 and other Sandvik steels; he said they seem to warp like no other. (a bow throughout the whole piece, not a little bacon-edge from grinding too thin). His best guess was that they roll it up in such tight/large spools that the steel is stressed before you ever start grinding it.
 
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