Ever noticed about AEB-L?

Kentucky

Kentucky

Joined
Dec 13, 2008
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That off the quench plates even when its still cool enough to hold(before it goes into the slurry) it can still be so easily bent by hand? Maybe its just me but it seems to stay very pliable longer than other steels..
 
Yea, I've noticed that - real handy if you've got a warp.... but you do have to be careful putting in dry ice slurry so it doesn't warp there.
 
I have the same issue with cpm154 and as Len stated it will warp in dry ice. I am going to keep it out of the dry ice until it's stiffened back up next time. I have always wanted to get them in the ice asap but I don't think a few extra minutes will hurt.
 
I do an air quench for 5 to 7 minutes using plates that I clamp. I blast it with air from a compressor. Then goes into dry ice. I haven't had any warping problems.
Jay
 
Doesn't AEB-L need to get below 1100ºF in less than 2 minutes for proper hardening????
 
Simple and short explanation:
Austenite is quite rubbery. It can be bent by hand easily. It can be warped by other structures as they form. It doesn't convert until the Ms and isn't gone until the Mf. Complex steels and stainless don't reach Mf until around -100F.
 
Ken H> said:
Yea, I've noticed that - real handy if you've got a warp.... but you do have to be careful putting in dry ice slurry so it doesn't warp there.
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yea, I found that out the hard way first time I did..Stainless warp dosnt correct so easily as carbon once the sub zero is done Ive also found:grumpy:
 
I really like AEBL but it warps on me if I look at it funny.

Are you grinding hardened blanks or do you grind pre HT Kentucky?

-Clint
 
Have any of you tried doing the sub zero while the blade is still in the quench plates? Could help with warp. Just a thought
 
The higher the austenitization temperature the lower for both Ms and Mf...
Finishing the quench to Mf in between plate to subzero helps minimizing warps during martensite formation, but the success depends a lot on the eveness of the microstructure. That's influenced also by uneven heating and cooling in the whole HT procedure, not only by mechanical uneven stresses.
Uneven stress means uneven strain, that's to say if uneven strain is generated as we remove the plates the warp will be there.
 
Augus7us said:
I really like AEBL but it warps on me if I look at it funny.

Are you grinding hardened blanks or do you grind pre HT Kentucky?

-Clint
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Funny you mention that..Most of the time we just start the bevels making sure to leave it mostly unground with plenty of flat the whole blade before heat treat...Ive got a nice B&T laying on the bench that I ground for myself some time ago in .118 aebl that needs heat treated..Ive put it off forever because I got carried away and ground it almost to completion and I know its gonna bow up like a copperhead when I heat treat it..
 
Ugh. I have a bar of .138 AEB-l for some small drop points I am starting. Under 4" blades. Is the warping as big an issue with the thicker/ non-culinary blades? This is my first SS so I'm hoping it goes somewhat smoothly. I am planning on grinding pre-heat treat to maybe dime thickness or thinner. Am I asking for trouble?
 
To minimize the warping I do all my grinding post heat treat. I keep the blades on a rack so they are edge up. I have thought of clamping all 7-8 together and then going into the subzero. I will post my results when I try it.
 
Based on the advice of several folks here I understand it's generally accepted that thin blades (less than .090") should be ground post HT, while thicker blades work just fine with grinding pre-HT.

I think your .138" should be just fine to grind pre-HT - I just did 3 drop points with .128" and ground pre-HT and they worked just fine with no warping. I now hang blades point down in Dry Ice rather than just laying them in a tray which has helped with warping.

Ken H>
 
For SS blades (such as AEB-L or 14C28N) I normally take edge now to at least .010". With SS foil and clamping between aluminum plates I've not had any issues with warping. Finish to around 400 grit - that SS foil keeps blade looking good. Where there is a nice distal taper on the blade it might warp a bit, but it's easy straighten direct from plates, as soon as you can hold it in hands and out of foil, it's easy to check and straighten any warps that might occur.

IF a nice thick blade with distal taper on blade and tang both it would only be actually touching the aluminum in a single plate so not sure about that. I've not made any blades thicker than .138" and didn't use much of a taper on blade, nor tang at all.

Ken H>
 
Well I must have been holding my mouth right today..I picked up some dry ice and heat treated that B&T blank today wgile Lisa wasn't using the kiln..equalize @ 1560°, aust' @1995° for 5 minutes and plate quench..Come off the plates dead nuts straight even though it has a very pronounced distal taper...Then into the slurry for an hour+ and still came out dead straight..Wish it worked that way every time ;)
 
its not a bug, its a feature :D

Starting from D2 and all the stainless steels allow you to correct a bend for about 5 minutes after being removed from the oven and cooled, then its hard as you would expect. But, steel doesn't bend by itself, its me who apply pressure to correct any small bend.


Pablo
 
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