US Steels?

Nate Webb

Nate Webb

Gold Member
Joined
May 30, 2023
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48
So... I'm not here to talk politics. That's not what Shop Talk is for. So let's keep opinions out if this thread.

With the announcement of a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, I have to ask the inevitable question. *Are* there any steel producers in the US making blade steels domestically? Seems like all my steels have been German, English, or Swedish of late, and a 25% increase in materials costs is something I'd just as soon avoid if at all possible 😬
 
I was just having that thought myself today.
I just bought a bunch of CPM steel, enough to last a year or two, just because CPM is in a challenging spot and getting steel made by them might not be possible in the future. I'm glad I did!
Canada will likely respond to a tax on our steel and aluminum with a retaliatory tax on US steel, which means that Canadians be paying a lot more for CPM, Carpenter, whoever else down there who might be making the stuff we love.
I expect our cutlery steel suppliers up here will start shopping around for alternatives- 25% is a huge import tax- from other places in the world for essentially the same thing, which is nuts, but 'we live in interesting times' ...
 
Is ZAPP a US Steel supplier? I know they have distribution centers/sales throughout the US. They also make several grades comparable to CPM stuff.
 
navman said:
Is ZAPP a US Steel supplier? I know they have distribution centers/sales throughout the US. They also make several grades comparable to CPM stuff.
Click to expand...
I thought they were German. But maybe they have manufacturing here in the US as well?
 
To amplify, I don't use a lot of super steels. My most common high-carbon steel is W1, and my go-to stainless is AEB-L. Not that I'm married to those alloys, they are just what I generally use these days.

I prefer US-made as a general rule, even without these new tariffs, but US made steels just haven't been a thing I've seen much of. I know Crucible is a question mark while they go through Chapter 11, and I didn't think Carpenter did much for blade steels, except maybe 52100?
 
Waiting for the NSM guy to chime in here because he keeps making it sound like there are mountains of steel available. Not sure where all they source from. They do list online most of the usual suspects but it says to contact them if you don't see what you want.
 
Thankfully, I have several hundred pounds of knife steel in the shop. I doubt I will ever use it all.

I wonder how long before the stock at the knife suppliers runs low.
I also expect some suppliers to immediately raise the price even though they are selling steel they already have in stock. Best to order what you need/want soon.
 
I had that same thought—human nature being what it is they will more than likely all go up in price eventually if not right away.

I have been stocking up for my retirement years (that started 5years ago so I’m good to go).
 
navman said:
Is ZAPP a US Steel supplier? I know they have distribution centers/sales throughout the US. They also make several grades comparable to CPM stuff.
Click to expand...
Sorry, #notaknifemaker, but I was under the impression that CPM was making certain ZAPP steels that are available here in the States.
 
Nate Webb said:
To amplify, I don't use a lot of super steels. My most common high-carbon steel is W1, and my go-to stainless is AEB-L. Not that I'm married to those alloys, they are just what I generally use these days.

I prefer US-made as a general rule, even without these new tariffs, but US made steels just haven't been a thing I've seen much of. I know Crucible is a question mark while they go through Chapter 11, and I didn't think Carpenter did much for blade steels, except maybe 52100?
Click to expand...
Carpenter 🟰 BG 42, XHP, 40CP, B75P, Maxamet among others.

Hoss
 
The last update on Crucible stated that Erasteel (who has the opening and only bid at this time to buy them) has no desire to keep the Syracuse operation going. Other research shows Erasteel's PM production is based out of Sweden. Carpenter used to make PM in Pennsylvania but has closed that facility and now uses their PM plant in Sweden also. Other PM producers are Bohler in Austria, a company called DSS in Ukraine/Russia and various Japanese and Chinese facilities. Looks like from a PM standpoint the origin of the powder will be outside the US.
 
Matthew Gregory posted videos from late January where NSM had several racks of billets of steel stacked waiting to be rolled out; NSM says they have a years worth of Magnacut to roll out:

Matthew Gregory

Post in thread 'Crucible Industries Update'

I was just up at Niagara Specialty Metals this morning, and it seems that Crucible has been busy fulfilling orders. Bob @nsm and I did a quick whip through the lot as we chatted, and he pointed out that their inventory is solid, with roughly a year’s supply of Magnacut in stock, among many other CPM alloys, as well as others...


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Not to mention that MC was never touted as 100% rust free. It is not H1 or H2. Still, it is pretty amazingly rust resistant.
 
I fully admit to still not understanding MagnaCut's rust resistance properties. I can watch videos where it's being torture tested with harsh chemicals and dead sea level solutions and comes out clean. And then someone posts where their knife has freckles from being in their pocket. I definitely don't get it.
 
Heat treat, tempering cycles, all effect the corrosion resistance. Its not "stainless" by composition percentages of Chromium, but its how the alloys react with each other.
 
I actually posted a video about this topic earlier today on instagram. It doesn’t get political, and I kept it as unbiased as I could.

I just went over how prices have been changing with overseas and domestic products with the introduction of the increased tariffs.

I currently import around $100,000 worth of material a year, so I’m definitely not an expert on the topic, but do have a decent amount of experience with duties/tariffs.


Tariffs and the Maker.
 
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