Rookie stainless

[GRapp]

I'm considering making from stainless now that I've done a bunch of carbon. Anything I should consider, or just pick the qualities I want, choose the type, and do it? I'll be making kitchen knives.

 

[pafka]

How do you intend to do the heat treatment? In house or outsource it?
AEB-L is generally a good choice - inexpensive, tough, fine grained.

 

[GRapp]

Outsource the HT. Maybe one day I buy or build an oven but not until the kids are out of my wallet, which might be never.

 

[pafka]

Then I would start with AEB-L, then move on straight to some PM steel later on. For kitchen knives grinding post heat treatment is preferable due to (generally) thinner stock. Having some misting system is a good idea, even if it's low-tech (I have a very rudimentary low-cost setup and it makes grinding post-HT much safer).

 

[A.McPherson]

Agreed. AEB-L is the way to go. Grinds easy, even when hardened, holds a very fine edge for quite a while. If you are sending out for HT, you might consider using Jarod Todd's heat trading service. He's really an expert at HT-ing AEB-L.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

AEB-L

 

[Stuart Davenport Knives]

Yep, AEB-L for your first stainless, or Nitro V or 14c28N as they are all very close in composition. You are outsourcing the heat treatment you can go any route you want, but AEB-L is very easy to grind. It is an exceptional steel.

For a step up next time, I absolutely love CPM 154 for kitchen cutlery.

 

[fitzo]

A question to those who send CPM 154 out for HT - how is the warpage versus AEB-l HTd by the same outfit? I HT CPM154 one blade at a time and quench with plates. I haven't encountered distortion but wonder about thin, hanging blades in those big furnaces. Thanks for any info!

 

[GRapp]

Thanks all. Glad to hear AEB-L so widely recommended, it seems to be priced better than most or all stainless in it's class (non-powdered).

 

[Horsewright]

Its so good it ain’t just a rookie steel. Post HT grinding is the way to go as everyone mentioned.

 

[Crag the Brewer]

AEB-L and her Sisters are really almost all you need for knife steels. Period.

It's awesome, & tough at lower hardness (60-62HRC) and sexy, and slicey at 63-64

The gains Other steels have over it are excruciatingly minimal.
I use Bos Heat Treating for batches of it

Please update with pics....

 

[Stuart Davenport Knives]

I do my own heat treating, but reputable heat treat companies will send the blade back to you straight, regardless of the alloy. With that said, CPM154 is a lot more stable in heat treat than AEB-L, in my experience.

 

[J Lensmire]

I’ve sent AEB-L and CPM-154 to both Peters and Bos. Peters now adds a step/charge to minimize warp issues they experienced with AEB-L. To date Bos does not.
As stated earlier, both send blades back straightened. You can’t go wrong with either, IMO.
I grind AEB-L post HT.
CPM-154- I’ve ground initial bevels to approx .030” pre-HT. It definitely seems a bit more difficult to grind post-HT.