Keeping costs down

A

Anthony Chaney

Joined
Jan 29, 2004
Messages
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Sheesks Louise! The cost of steel these days is mind numbing. The last time I ordered steel several years ago, 1084 was 2 bucks a foot for 1/4" x 1 1/2".

I'm down to my last few feet and I was getting ready to order some. Kelly Cupples doesn't carry 1084 anymore, so I guess I'll try 1080. Will I notice much difference between 1084 and 1080?

Aldo carries 1084, but doesn't offer free shipping, so that's out since I'm all the way down in Texas and the shipping costs would be substantial.

I can't imagine you guys that use the premium stainless stuff, your costs have to be through the roof!

Of course it's not just steel that's gone up, it's just about everything. Well....almost everything... except our pay, that is still pretty much the same:D
 
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I'm only two states from Aldo, but shipping was quite reasonable for about 35lb. You may want a lot more... I'd give him a call and find out.
 
Anthony Chaney said:
Sheesks Louise! The cost of steel these days is mind numbing. The last time I bought steel, 1084 was 2 bucks a foot for 1/4" x 1 1/2" ...
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:confused:
That's expensive?
Seems cheaper than the last time I bought a bunch a few years ago ...

My advise is to get the steel you know will work, from a known, trusted source always.
 
JCaswell said:
:confused:
That's expensive?
Seems cheaper than the last time I bought a bunch a few years ago ...

My advise is to get the steel you know will work, from a known, trusted source always.
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Sorry JC, I went back and read my post and it does seem to be confusing. The last time I ordered steel was several years ago. Sorry for the confusion.
 
Anthony Chaney said:
Sorry JC, I went back and read my post and it does seem to be confusing. The last time I ordered steel was several years ago. Sorry for the confusion.
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What's 1084 cost now?

... and yes, after paying for quantities of titanium and some of the "super steels", carbon steel prices always look downright friendly.:p
 
I'm in OK and Aldo's shipping prices are really reasonable. Especially when compared to other suppliers. The prices of everything keep going up and aren't going to come down any time soon, if ever. Like other companies, your customers are the ones who have to pick up the difference in costs. Unless you want to take less for your work. I've found that even when I use Stainless, the price of the steel is one of the least factors in the price of one of my knives.
 
Steel is still the cheapest part of this hobby/craft. Try shipping to Canada if you thing shipping is pricey to Texas:D
Oh yeah, Aldo Rocks!:thumbup::D
Darcy
 
Most folks use Aldo because they want to keep the costs down. I have never had steel shipped so cheaply.

Remember that the shipping on one single bar is always going to seem high. For a few bucks more, you can ship a 50 pound bundle.
 
bladsmth said:
Remember that the shipping on one single bar is always going to seem high. For a few bucks more, you can ship a 50 pound bundle.
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That's true for almost anything, I think. It's not always practical but I try to order as much as I can at one time, whether it's steel, handle materials, or several small items from the same supplier. Shipping will kill you if you're not careful.
 
There are tradeoffs to be considered here.

Do you want to work with known quality materials, or just some junk you scavenged from someone else's rusty junk pile? You whine about paying a few bucks for shipping, but how does that stack up to the costs of using free/cheap junk steel?

Consider, with junk steel you have no idea if you are producing a knife or a KSO. All the time and materials you put into making something would likely be wasted entirely. How do all those costs stack up against the shipping costs? Wear and tear on your grinding tools ain't free. Your time shouldn't be free. Fuel to power your heat treat equipment probably isn't free. If all those costs are added up, I'm willing to wager the cost of shipping good steel to give you assurance you are actually producing a knife turns out to be the best bargain around.

But hey, that's just me. I like using quality materials... and yes, I will also find ways to integrate some lower end stuff (found steel) into a knife... but not as a blade.

Bite the bullet, dude. It's cheaper in the end.
 
tryppyr said:
There are tradeoffs to be considered here.

Do you want to work with known quality materials, or just some junk you scavenged from someone else's rusty junk pile? You whine about paying a few bucks for shipping, but how does that stack up to the costs of using free/cheap junk steel?

Consider, with junk steel you have no idea if you are producing a knife or a KSO. All the time and materials you put into making something would likely be wasted entirely. How do all those costs stack up against the shipping costs? Wear and tear on your grinding tools ain't free. Your time shouldn't be free. Fuel to power your heat treat equipment probably isn't free. If all those costs are added up, I'm willing to wager the cost of shipping good steel to give you assurance you are actually producing a knife turns out to be the best bargain around.

But hey, that's just me. I like using quality materials... and yes, I will also find ways to integrate some lower end stuff (found steel) into a knife... but not as a blade.

Bite the bullet, dude. It's cheaper in the end.
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Hmmmm. I think somehow I miscommunicated what I was trying to say.
Although, I didn't mention anything about scavenged steel. Not that I haven't used it before, I just didn't mention it in this thread. I have no doubt that Aldo's steel is top quality. Ed Caffery uses it and that's all I need to know. I wasn't even saying Aldo's steel was high priced. I was talking about the cost of things in general. I guess I should have mentioned that I haven't had to buy any steel since about 04. I bought quite a few pounds way back when everyone started talking about 1084 becoming scarce. I've been in this game awhile.

I haven't been on Blade Forums in awhile, but we used to be able to discuss things without all the drama. Carry on guys.
 
Tryppyr makes a very important point!

The quality of the steel is paramount, and TRUST ME!!! you can't take for granted that what you're getting from random XYZ company is actually what they say it is, or is within specification for what it's supposed to be.
This has cost me DEARLY in the past. :(

The nice thing about Aldo, from my experience, is that when you order 1084 it's actually 1084. :thumbup:
You don't order 1075, for instance, and have it independently test out at .63 carbon and when you call to find out what's going on they try to tell you that .63 is still "within spec" for 1075---stuff like that that happens with certain other vendors ...:mad:
 
Anthony Chaney said:
I was talking about the cost of things in general. I guess I should have mentioned that I haven't had to buy any steel since about 04. I bought quite a few pounds way back when everyone started talking about 1084 becoming scarce.
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I understand. You probably saved yourself a fair amount by doing that. Costs probably aren't going down in the future, so if you have a favorite alloy (or a couple favorites) and the capital to do so, you may as well buy all you can now. The shelf-life on barstock is pretty good :)
 
If you can figure out how to go back in time, buy some gold at the same time. :)



You can always try Admiral, but maybe you don't get what you ordered, maybe it's warped bent and wowed.

Aldo is the best value I know.
 
I try to buy as large pieces as I can when buying steel. I hadn't thought about it but like James Terrio said "the shelf life of bar stock is pretty good".
After buying stainless steels and high end alloys like M390, S90V and 10V, I think the price on Aldo's 1084 is pretty attractive.
 
Cost of steel for making a big 6 x 3 x 1.5 inch billet of damascus from Aldo's 1084 and 15N20, about $40. Cost of doing a big stainless billet the same size using CPM 3V and CPM 154 like Devin Thomas is doing now? Probably abourt $250!!! Yeah, everything is relative.;)
 
There are a number of carbon steel suppliers near me so I can usually pick some up, you may want to look locally, these are professional steel suppliers for industry and should have a quality product. Get a quote from Aldo and compare, I will usually have him add some carbon steel to my stainless order just to round it out since the shipping is not much more.
 
go with aldo i jsut ordered half a sheet of cpm154 and like has been said plain carbon steels might as well be added to the shipping as filler in the box :)
i would say go with SB metals as they are close to you buti dont think that they have 1084 (you could call scott to make sur tho they are good people down there )
maybe if you dont need a ton AKS might have what you need

i will never use the steel supplyer that starts with A evey again
 
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