Heat treating AEB-L under 1000° C

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Will7284

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Dec 3, 2025
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I am wanting to try stainless for some knives but only have a muffle furnace that goes to 1000° C. Is this enough to get something out of AEB-L? I know it is not ideal but will it harden at all, and if so how well? Are there other steels that offer some corrosion resistance that can be heat treated within this range? Thanks.
 
Will7284 said:
I am wanting to try stainless for some knives but only have a muffle furnace that goes to 1000° C. Is this enough to get something out of AEB-L? I know it is not ideal but will it harden at all, and if so how well? Are there other steels that offer some corrosion resistance that can be heat treated within this range? Thanks.
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You will have a useless blade at those temperatures.

Try A2, not stainless but has some stain resistance. Well within those temperatures.

Hoss
 
1023 C (1875 F) will get you to 61 HRC according to Larrin's study https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/03/04/all-about-aeb-l/

hardness-AEB-L2.jpg
 
From the chart above 1875°F would get you to at least 61 Rc. I suspect 1823°F would get at least 59 to 60 Rc. with tempering at 300°F should leave the blade at almost the same Rc, but even if you wound up with 58 Rc it's still a VERY useful blade in the commercial knife range.

BUT - As much as I like AEB-L, I agree with Hoss, using A2 or something that's designed to work at your temps is the best choice.
 
I was just about to type the same thing yesterday but decided not to for whatever reason.

I have a Kershaw Leek in 13c26 (Sandvick's version of AEB-L). It is 59HRC and quite underwhelming. After I started making knvies and heat treating stainless steel myself, I made my wife a Santoku at 63HRC and it holds an edge amazingly well.
 
Stuart Davenport Knives said:
I was just about to type the same thing yesterday but decided not to for whatever reason.

I have a Kershaw Leek in 13c26 (Sandvick's version of AEB-L). It is 59HRC and quite underwhelming. After I started making knvies and heat treating stainless steel myself, I made my wife a Santoku at 63HRC and it holds an edge amazingly well.
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Amazingly well for a kitchen knife... most kitchen chores are pretty easy on knife edges if they have a decent modern hardness. But start cutting abrasive and 63 AEB-L glasses out pretty fast, maybe even worse than some of the most recent low alloy options.
 
Seedy Lot said:
Amazingly well for a kitchen knife... most kitchen chores are pretty easy on knife edges if they have a decent modern hardness. But start cutting abrasive and 63 AEB-L glasses out pretty fast, maybe even worse than some of the most recent low alloy options.
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I’m guessing you have a polished edge. Sharpen to 400-600 grit and it will cut a lot better.

Hoss
 
Seedy, I know AEB-L doesn't have a lot of wear resistance to it, but honestly, most of my cutting chores don't require a lot of wear resistance in the steel. The apex stability AEB-L has is what I really like about it.

Honestly, I have never tried AEB-L with a lower grit edge like Devin mentioned. I usually sharpen it to 3000 or 5000, and for kitchen duty I really enjoy it.
 
I don't know worked here very well. If ya ain't never done a wild hog it's like cutting sandpaper that's been soaked in mud and allowed to dry. This was this morning, a test drive of a new knife design of mine called the Elk Guide. AEB-L at 62-63 RC. Sharpened to 400 grit.


2iPfErN.jpg
 
DevinT said:
I’m guessing you have a polished edge. Sharpen to 400-600 grit and it will cut a lot better.

Hoss
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I did use 600 grit diamond finish stone on a 14C28N boning knife this year and it did work much better than a more refined finish but it is a long ways from Magnacut from my experience.
 
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I have never field dressed a feral hog before. A good friend of mine is really into culling these invasive pigs we have in South Texas using a 300 Blackout on an AR platform using thermal optics at night. He used to go through a handful of knives dressing just one hog, and asked me to make him a custom knife for the job. I have always heard how tough and abrasive the hide is on those nasty things, as they love to wallow around in the sandy soil and mud. I told him 10V would be my choice, so I made him a 65HRC knife in 10V, his profile design. He told me he was able to go through 3 pigs and the edge would still shave. I don't know what knives he was using before, but I think he is sold on 10V, as am I! (and K390)

Can't wait to try MagnaMax. A stainless 10V would be the ants pants AND the bees knees.
 
Thank you all for your valuable input. I thought I wouldn't get optimal results, but just wanted to see the communities thoughts on it. Thanks again.
 
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