Good source for L6

Gossman Knives

Gossman Knives

Edged Toolmaker
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Apr 9, 2004
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I'd like to try this steel. What's a good source for it in barstock? Any tips for HT? Thanks
Scott
 
Admiral steel carries it but only in 3/16". Don't know about HT, I am still trying to figgure that out though I am told that they will send HT information on request.
 
Scott, I temper the L-6 at 400 to 425 twice for 2 hours both times. Admiral does have about the best deal on it. The 3/16 they have is on the strong size. If you can find an old saw blade theres a good chance it could also be L-6.
 
Scott, the steel admiral sells as L6 is much more likely 15N20 in my opinion. Still a great steel... but it's not L6.

If you get Champalloy L6 from Crucible, it requires a speroidal anneal to be workable, and is incredibly tough. If you were to forge some Crucible L6 and then try to drill it you'd be up a creek. The admiral stuff will be soft.

You've got that forge now, so you can start buying round stock!!! :D

-Nick-
 
The Cruciable L-6 is good stuff, but a bear to aneal. I've gotten pretty good results by forging at the low end of the forging temp, tripple normalizing, with the last two normalizing cycles just below non-magnetic, then three anealing cycles with pre-heated 1/4" steel plates in vermiculite, the anealing cycles at just below non-magnetic. You can tell when the magnet just starts to loss atraction your at the right temp to aneal. Then a couple two hour draws in my oven at 500 deg. F. After all that grind/drill quench at non-magnetic and temper, I get the best results with a tripple temper at 375 deg. F. L-6 is a wonderfuly tough steel.

I don't know about the Admiral stuff, and most of the saw blades I've played with worked like 1075ish with nickle added.
 
You can't get L6 from Crucible in barstock (at least that's what they told me). Carpenters does have it though --

A forumite was kind enough to send me a sample of the Admiral stuff - I've been playing around with it and it is pretty tough stuff. The chemical analysis is different from Crucible and Carpenters, but you might want to try it out anyway.
 
Thanks again guys. This was a steel I was thinking about. Maybe I'll use it when I get it together and forge. :)
Scott
 
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