So who is loving AEB-L?

AVigil

AVigil

Adam Vigil working the grind
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I bought some from Alpha Knife Supply, who are always great to deal with, and made a few blades from it.

One knife I like to make is a little "Kozuka" chisel ground blade for everyday carry.

I made a couple and this is the only one I have left and they really took a razor sharp edge.

The steel was easy to grind and work with. It was a bit stubborn on getting a clean logo etch but it came out OK.

This AEB-L is definitly going into the steel stock along with A2 and S35VN.

I really would like to see some in .172" thickness for some of my other blades.

So who else is having a good experience with AEB-L?

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I am just getting started with it, having only made a few coupons to get my heat treating down. Looking forward to comparing it soon to my CPM 154 blades- it is certainly cheaper and looks promising for kitchen cutlery from what I have read which is mostly what I am making now. I am hoping to find some thicker stock as well as I am working on some Japanese knives (Deba etc) that would benefit from it.
 
I like it, too! It's sort of "the stainless steel for people who don't like stainless"... easy to sharpen, fine grained, takes a really crisp edge, seems good and tough - just like a "plain" carbon steel except it stains less :p

I too wish I could get it in thicker stock and try some heavier blades with it. Brad at Peters told me he seems to remember seeing thicker knives in AEB-L, but he didn't know offhand where the makers had gotten it. Maybe Chuck from AKS will chime in with some ideas on that.
 
I like working with it very much ! I have also had some great remarks on how it works in the field. I made up a liner locking fish knife the other day. Boy is that AEBL flexible, although I don't really believe it needs to be for a fish knife. I do believe that does indicate an edge that may stay a little longer. Does the New Jersey Baron have some thicker stock? I understand that what is in circulation just now , originated from his shop. I'm using the 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8" stock sizes.Frank
 
I have some sitting here but have yet to use it. I definitely haven't heard anything bad about it.
 
Frank Niro said:
Does the New Jersey Baron have some thicker stock?
Click to expand...

Frank,

I read on Alpha Knife supply site Chuck is talking to the manufacture about thicker stock.

I do hope it happens sooner rather then later.
 
I've got about 6 feet of 2.6" wide .098" AEB-L coming in this week from AKS, chopping it into kitchen knives. This will be my first time trying it, I bought it due to its reputation as a stainless with fine edge stability. I'm looking forward to working with it.
 
Subzero quenched 52100 is my standard for edge retention at this point in my learning curve, and the AEB-L I've made and used in my kitchen (at Rc62) is close enough that I can't tell much difference. It dulls just a little quicker if my wife slices stuff on a surface that's not a cutting board, but hey- that's abuse. Otherwise, I'm very pleased.
Still trying various finishing routines- you who use it, what do you like? Any luck with polishes, or is satin good enough?
 
I've just been making blades from old saw blades...feeling really low tech and low class listening to you guys now!!! What's the price for nice steel like that?
 
62 Rc sounds great for a chef slicer. How about using this steel as a hunting knife which needs a very sharp blade edge retention, but some toughness due to prying joints apart?
 
The 1080+ and CruForgeV that Alpha sells are pretty simple steels to heat treat for a good all purpose blade that will hold an edge. I'd start with the 1080+ and master that.
 
The people using the hunting knives I have out with the AEBL don't use their knives for prying on bones or such so I can't say how it would work. The knives I have out are folders with blades about 4" long and thickness of about .300. They are being used on moose, elk, and deer. Frank
 
I really like AEB-L. It is an excellent steel for some uses.

I have to admit, I was not impressed with AEB-L when I first looked at the chemistry. Devin Thomas told me the steel was good, but I could not get past the unimpressive chemistry.

A few years ago I finally bought a kitchen knife from Devin and started testing. The knife is a slicer with a 6" blade and .078" at the spine. Hardness is HRC 62. Within a month the knife was everyones favorite. After a few months I abused the knife to try and get it to chip. I used (abused) the knife to deburr aluminum dies and scrape sealant from the dies. It did not chip. It has been used and abused and will not chip. It resharpens quickly and holds an edge for a long time. I think AEB-L is the best value/performance steel for kitchen knives. It would not be my first choice for a knife that cuts abrasive materials. AEB-L excels when cutting meats and vegetables.

I've spoken to the Uddeholm metallurgist about the chemistry of AEB-L. The chemistry is not impressive for a reason. The steel was developed specifically to make razor blades. There is only enough carbon for the steel to get very hard, but not make any chromium carbides. All the chromium in AEB-L goes to corrosion resistance. Not having chromium carbides is why AEB-L does not perform as well as other steels when cutting abrasive materials. The advantage of no chromium carbides is extremely fine grain. AEB-L sharpens to a scary sharp edge.

AEB-L is made by Uddeholm at their strip mill. Strip mills like to make big rolls of thin (.020"-.100") steel. The thickest steel they've made is .136". We pestered them for years to get the .136" and they finally agreed. After rolling .136" they complained it was too thick. We have not given up getting thicker AEB-L.

AEB-L has specific heat treating requirements. If you want to get maximum performance it MUST have a cryo treatment immediately after quenching. The Uddeholm metallurgist told me a delay of a couple hours between quench and cryo will result in up to 30% loss in edge holding. When I write "cryo" it also includes sub zero processes. Another interesting heat treating fact is cryo soak is not required. The metallurgist said once the steel reaches -105°, there is not benefit to letting it soak longer. Some steels require cryo soak, AEB-L does not. I've spoken to Brad at Peters Heat treating about the cryo requirements for AEB-L. He said he has two heat treat recipes. One with a snap temper before cryo, and the other goes from quench to cryo. If you have Brad heat treat your blades (which I highly recommend), discuss which recipe works best for you.

IMO, AEB-L must be heat treated in the upper hardness range to be effective. The steel is not available in thicker material so camp, chopping, tactical and sharpened prybars are not likely. Use AEB-L for thin slicing knives at HRC 61-62. If you want a lower hardness, choose a different steel.

We started stocking AEB-L in 2010. At that time, nobody was stocking the steel. We buy AEB-L directly from Uddeholm.

Chuck
 
I have an 8'' AEB-L Wa Gyuto at ~61Rc done by Peters HT - I love this steel and it seriously may be my favorite. (sad - because I'm mostly into forged blades)

at ~61Rc it is very easy to sharpen - A few licks on the ceramic rod can bring it back to shaving sharp.

very corrosion resistant - it has been left on the cutting board over night without a wash (carbon blades don't get that special treatment) and there isn't a single spot.

it has excellent edge holding...

In my book, I prefer steel that is easy to sharpen rather than steel that holds an edge longer.

Chuck, you mention you wouldn't use AEB-L as a first choice when building a blade to cut abrasive materials - how do you think it would work as a hunting knife against deer / hog hide?
 
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Its a really great steel, especially for the price. Toughness and edge stability really make it shine in my use. Its looking like it will be my go to steel for hard use stainless machetes. I'm also going to use it along with M390 in my kitchen knives.
 
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