stainless

v-6

v-6

Joined
Nov 24, 2007
Messages
952
What stainless would be a easy starter. i have a oven so i can do the ht myself.
that is when i find out which one i need to start with and find out what the ht should be and how.
vern
 
The selection of stainless depends on the purpose of the knife. Listed below have been my choices for a few years. I have not listed Crucible steels as the future availabilty of these steels seems soon to be history.
440c- good all around ss and great if around a humid or salt environment
AEB-L Probably the most under rated steel I have used, grinds easily and holds a
fine edge and sharpens easily.
ATS34 Oriental 154Cm, good all around stainless.
D2 While not quite a SS it is close and holds a great edge.

The four steels above is not all enclusive, however all good choices. My choice goes to AEB-L and D2. My Marine son likes the AEB-L and he stress's the heck out of it. Which ever you choose will suffice. A Cryo treatment between Ht & temper will greatly improve the blades quality. HT is the key in all steels, IMHO. Good Luck!
 
Cheapest and easiest to HT your self is probably ATS43 or 440c. If you just want to mess around and see what you could do that's what Id use.
 
Ok, here is a thought: every steel has a "4" in it like ATS34, CPM154, RWL34, 440 etc all are great for the first try, all take decent edge, easy grinding... I dont know why but these all have"4" in it :) I'm sure it is a coincidence, I had to say it though :rolleyes:..

Try to stay away from D2 or s30V type hard to shape alloys. If you are used to play with carbon steel you'll hate them when they eat your precious grinding belts ....
 
Emre - three of those steels are basically the same composition, which may account for their naming similarities :)

I think most any stainless is pretty straight forward, 440C is inexpensive and makes a nice blade. I use it often, along with the ATS43/154CM families.
 
Note that Udeholm AEB-L and Sandvick 13C26 are essentially the same steel. Admiral carries the Sandvick steels at pretty reasonable prices.
 
The last batch of ATS-34 was terrible. It had coarse grain running through it and would not polish out. The cpm 154 and AEB-L (13c26) are both great, very clean and easy to work.

Mike Quesenberry
ABS Journeyman
 
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