So where are people getting troublesome AEB-L?

AVigil

AVigil

Adam Vigil working the grind
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I have always gotten my AEB-L from Alpha Knifesupply and not had any of the "bowing" problem reported.


That is just my experience.

Hopefully if enough people post their experience it can help our suppliers zero in on the problem source.
 
I've always gotten AEB-L from Chuck at Alpha. I have had warping problems with it, but I'm not convinced at all that it's due to the supplier. I think it's tricky to work with, and I've gotten my process dialed in better over time.

AKS has been a good supplier to me for years, and have refunded me in the very rare instance when I've complained about a piece of wood, with no problems. In fact they volunteered to...

Chuck is a guy who will talk to you at length about whatever questions you may have, helpful and friendly fella, and Jessica is cool too.
 
I'll have to 2nd Salem's comments about Chuck with AKS. Chuck has always taken time to give nice in-depth answers when I've had to ask. Seems to be a great guy to do business with. He's where I get most of my metal - just waiting for him to get more .070" AEB-L.

Ken H>
 
The only places I buy steel from anymore are from Chuck or Aldo (AKS and NJSB). To date, I've had no issues with AEB-L or any other steel I've received from either. Now, I'm sure I don't be nearly as much steel as many other makers around here, but I figured I'd add my .02 worth of steel anyway. ;)
 
I could be mistaken, but I think it was a reference to when people had a lot of issues with the steel from Admiral Steel and the eBay sellers who would buy their steel to resell.

Honestly, Chuck and Aldo are two of the most reliable sellers I know of, and I highly doubt anyone was worried that either of them was selling low quality products.
 
Greenberg Woods said:
I could be mistaken, but I think it was a reference to when people had a lot of issues with the steel from Admiral Steel and the eBay sellers who would buy their steel to resell.

Honestly, Chuck and Aldo are two of the most reliable sellers I know of, and I highly doubt anyone was worried that either of them was selling low quality products.
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I could very well be mistaken, but I don't believe that Admiral carries, or has ever carried, AEB-L. The biggest problem steel that cropped up from their stock was 1095, IIRC.
 
knife to a gunfight said:
I could very well be mistaken, but I don't believe that Admiral carries, or has ever carried, AEB-L. The biggest problem steel that cropped up from their stock was 1095, IIRC.
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Well, there's that 'L6 subsitue things and selling the small 1 x 1/4 sizes of"5160" that were actually 9260........
 
jdm61 said:
Well, there's that 'L6 subsitue things and selling the small 1 x 1/4 sizes of"5160" that were actually 9260........
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I had seen the "L6" thing, but wasn't aware of the 5160 sub. At any rate, there's a reason I buy from Aldo and Chuck, despite living within easy driving distance of Admiral.
 
As a innocent bystander I watched the threads come through praising AEB-L and was convinced that would be the next steel I'd try for kitchen knives. Then all the threads came through with constant warping, bowing etc that I came convinced that I'd stick with the tried and true 440C. I don't know what to think as a hobbyist making knives. I'd rather stick to the tried and true and know I'm going to end up with a awesome knife. All knives came back to comparing to 440C in all reality! Your mileage may vary as I've only been doing this for about 14 years and most of the guys on here have forgot more than I ever knew about making knives! PERIOD!
 
I'll chime in with my thoughts.

1) All steel can warp. Some more than others, but 99% of warp is from the HT procedures ... and 99% of the correction can be done with the proper procedures in the quench and temper.

2) AEB-L isn't any better or worse to make knives form than 440 or any basic stainless steel. You have to learn its particular attributes and procedures, just like any other steel.

3) Buying for an established seller, like Chuck, Aldo, Pops, or the other long time suppliers will give you tried and tested steel and good customer service. The price may be lower from an eBay seller or a fellow getting rid of band saw blades, but you won't necessarily get any good info or help if you have a problem.

4) Remember that the sellers don't make the steel themselves. They buy a batch from a mill or supplier and cut it up to sell. If there is a problem, they try to find the issue, and either give the proper HT parameters, or take back all they sold and bite a big loss. We have to give them some slack for this, as they can't control everything.

5) If you have an issue with a batch of steel, call the supplier and talk to them about your problem. They may offer a solution. Test I against another batch before decaling that it is "bad steel". Many times it is good steel, just different from your last batch. Many time it is an error on your part, and you haven't traced the problem. If you need help, post in Shop Talk and give the specifics about the problem. Don't start with blaming the seller or questioning the steel's quality. The last thing to do is make a thread where you start roaring about how bad the steel is from XYZ when all you have bought is a few feet. It takes time and many blades to learn any steel. Every batch may need a little tweak from the last. That is why buying on larger batches is wise.





Try and keep this thread on the steels you have PERSONALLY purchased and comments about your PERSONAL use and issues. Lets not start talking about what you heard or read elsewhere.
 
I have bought probably twelve feet of AEB-L from AKS and had no problems. In full disclosure AEB-L is the only stainless I have used and I am a part time maker/ hobbiest. That said, I just ordered one stick from njsb to try just for comparisons sake. Unless the heavens open up with a choir of angels when I see the results, I will be back to AKS as they have ALWAYS been great in service, price and quality. Not that Aldo isnt, I'm just a " if it ain't broke don't fix it" kind of guy.
 
I have bought AEB-L from Aldo and AKS both. Mostly .070 but also .110 and .196. I grind post HT (Bos) and all the thinner stuff warps but not too much. The only way to control that is balancing the grinds. YMMV
 
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I just recently finished up processing AEB-L in 3 thicknesses from Chuck... .098, .156 and .196. All of them were 6x24" stock. After cutting out 40+ blanks, the only ones I had a "problem" with was the thicker .196... when I cut my blanks out on my bandsaw, they curled slightly. I sent them to Peters for heat treat in the slightly curled state without gridning the bevels and they came back straight as an arrow. They're still perfectly straight after griding the bevels so I'm not even sure I would consider it a problem.

No issues at all with the thinner stock ... I'll glady continue to buy AEB-L (and the majority of my knife making materials for that matter) from AKS because thei'r customer service and support is fantastic and they don't gouge customers on shipping.
 
I got the .098" AEB-L from AKS & had no trouble with it. I grind fairly thin prior to HT (Bos) & set my bevels so there is very little to do after it comes back for final finish. I had "0" problems with this steel in two different blade sizes & it came back perfectly straight. The sheet I got was perfectly flat before I worked with it & didn't spring at all after it was cut on a water jet.

I took one blade down to 0.010" at the edge, just to see how it worked out, but I was able to use it without any distortion at the edge, crispy bacon, or bad spots when it returned from HT. I grind as close to symmetrical as possible before HT & hand finish at 220. This was an experiment & I may have dodged the bullet this time, but there were no issues. Perhaps I just got lucky? This is nice stuff to work with & finish & I'll be getting more.
 
It sounds like everyone not having any issues at all are sending out for HT. :)
So you really have no idea whether or not the steel moves under heat or cold and what your Heat treater of choice is doing to straighten them.
 
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BenR.T. said:
It sounds like everyone not having any issues at all are sending out for HT. :)
So you really have no idea whether or not the steel moves under heat or cold and what your Heat treated of choice is doing to straighten them.
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That's a pretty big assumption on your part, don't you think?
 
I am still scratching my head bit because AEB-L has the reputation of being some of the absolute cleanest steel that can be had any price. I can't see Voestalpine letting any steel with inclusions, etc, leaving their loading dock. Are we talking about Chinese ripoff steel?
 
BenR.T. said:
It sounds like everyone not having any issues at all are sending out for HT. :)
So you really have no idea whether or not the steel moves under heat or cold and what your Heat treater of choice is doing to straighten them.
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Maybe, but part of my list includes several .070 thick fillet knives, some of which were 15" OAL, going out and coming back straight as could be, or at least as straight as I'd sent them. I'd figure if anything is going to warp, that'd be it. That's not to mention about 60+ other AEB-L pieces I processed and set out for HT. Maybe Peter's had to straighten them, maybe not, but what do I care if they did? It really makes no difference to me if they had to untie each one of them out of a pretzel shaped ball, as long as they are hard, clean, and straight, and stayed that way through finishing. If I had to make an educated guess, however, I'd wager that any post HT straightening was minimal, if at any at all.

On the other end, it sounds like a lot of the issues were home heat treatments... who's to say any warping wasn't user influenced? :)

I'm mostly kidding, as I know some of the guys who were having issues are among some of the better and more experienced makers out there. Maybe there was a bad batch here or there, maybe a lot of us got lucky, or vice versa. At any rate, I'm still gonna use AEB-L.
 
BenR.T. said:
It sounds like everyone not having any issues at all are sending out for HT. :)
So you really have no idea whether or not the steel moves under heat or cold and what your Heat treater of choice is doing to straighten them.
Click to expand...

Nope. I do my own heat treat and have had no issues, even with .07" stock.
 
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