Looking for flat L6....

Phillip Patton

Phillip Patton

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jul 25, 2005
Messages
5,380
Crucible only sells round bar, and I remember either Carpenter or Timken-Latrobe sells it in heavy flat stock, but I can't remember which.
Can someone help me out?
I'm tired of all the hassle it takes to use Champalloy for damascus, so I'm looking for some flat stock...

Thanks,
 
I must say, Carpenter has one of the most useless websites I've ever come across. :mad: Absolutely nothing on it about L6, or even their name for it, RDS.
I guess I'll just have to call them... :)
 
Phil,
They used to have a great website you could order from, but they had too many problems with returns from customers who didn't know what they wanted. They are happy to deal with me. I order round stock from them and get full bars. I have been happy with them so far.
Del
 
I used to buy L6 bar stock from Admiral but that was 2-3 years ago. Check em out. They always treated me great!
 
L6steel said:
I used to buy L6 bar stock from Admiral but that was 2-3 years ago. Check em out. They always treated me great!
Click to expand...

It's not L6.... And it's not the thickness I want. I'm looking for 1/2"
But thanks anyway. :)
 
I called Carpenter and got a quote for their L6. Whew! About twice what Crucible wants for theirs. But, of course, Crucibles isn't flat...
BTW, the sales rep said they have L6 in 1/4" thick, in case any of you stock removers (or forgers) didn't know.
 
Phillip - were you having troubles with the Champalloy? Or was it a different L6?
 
Wulf said:
Phillip - were you having troubles with the Champalloy? Or was it a different L6?
Click to expand...


Champalloy. Every blade I made from it, (except the 3 that worked out and I sold) would roll and wrinkle on the edge when I would chop hardwood with it.
Even when it's at 61 RC, the edge rolls. :mad:
 
That's weird. I haven't had any problems with the L6 I've gotten from Crucible. How thin are you grinding your edges?
 
Wulf said:
That's weird. I haven't had any problems with the L6 I've gotten from Crucible. How thin are you grinding your edges?
Click to expand...

Well, of course that's one of the first things I thought of, so I made blades with different thicknesses, and it still did it. I've tried austenitizing it for different times, at different temps. Still no go. One thing I haven't tried is water quenching. Maybe that would make a difference. :D
I did realize that tempering at 400 made it too soft, like 58-59 RC, so I adjusted the tempering temps to 340-350. But even at 60-61 RC, the edge still deforms. I've had it. I'm just going to use what I have left in damascus, and use a different steel for my big knives. :grumpy: Unless someone sees a solution that I can't.
 
Phillip Patton said:
BTW, the sales rep said they have L6 in 1/4" thick, in case any of you stock removers (or forgers) didn't know.
Click to expand...

WHAT??! Holy crap! Ain't this the perfect time for me to be completely broke. Was she sure about this? Last year I called several times about it, and sometimes they thought they had it in 1/4" thickness, and finally they were certain they did not. I finally had someone else forge some thicker stuff down for me. If you are startled by the cost difference just getting flat stock so you can start working on it, well, it's no picnic having to pay 2x-3x as much.

Dang. When did this happen? I'm gonna have to call just out of curiosity now. I was assured they had no plans to ever get 1/4" thick L6 again.
 
L6steel said:
I used to buy L6 bar stock from Admiral but that was 2-3 years ago. Check em out. They always treated me great!
Click to expand...

I put a order in today. And they do not have L6 no longer. I order up some steel for the year. Great to deal with and they ship orders out fast. No better in my book. ---------:thumbup:
 
Phillip, that's surprising to hear. L6 should harden fine in oil. I used some of the Champalloy in my JS performance test knife and it performed very well for me (tempered at 400 with a convex edge). Maybe you just got a bad batch of steel or something....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top