Where to buy steel for a californian?

Shipping can certainly vary based on carrier and/or who’s shipping. I live right outside of Chicago, so I’m pretty centrally located relative to most of the main suppliers. NJ steel baron tends to be one of the priciest in my experience, especially if I’m not buying a lot of steel. AKS is probably the most reasonable. USAknifemaker is pretty good as well, though I don’t typically buy steel from them, unless it’s part of a larger order.
Admiral is only 45 minutes from me, so shipping isn’t bad, though in the past I’ve also done will call. I do believe it starts climbing the father away your zip code is.
 
I understand not wanting to pay for shipping especially when buying small amounts. I have found that common steels such as 1095 can be found on Amazon. With Prime shipping, this has been my cheapest route. You just have to search for the listings with a fair price. This one seems like a good deal to me.
 
The problem with ordering from Amazon is that you don't really know where that steel is coming from...
Patriot Steel is the supplier listed on Amazon, but doing a quick web search, the only steel supplier with that name only sells structural steel.
It's kinda a crap shoot.
 
A. McPheherson, have you gotten burned on Amazon before?

I have heard about bad steel on Ebay. In my experience, Amazon sellers seem to be more reliable. (aside from some of the plethora of Chinese companies that are usually very obvious)
 
I personally have not.

Lots of folks on here have though and I like to learn from others mistakes as well as my own! :D

Buying from a reputable dealer who provides certs and HT information with their product will save you time and money.

This hobby is frustrating enough without having a piece of steel that won't harden, or doesn't harden like it should.

As many more experienced makers have admonished me in the past "steel is the cheapest part of the knife". Don't try save money by going to an unknown source or using scrap steel.

Use known steel from known suppliers and get repeatable results.

Or don't complain when you don't!
 
Thanks for your input.

I'm hard headed so i went ahead and got some from the amazon link. For what its worth, it seems good. Came annealed and HT'ed nicely!
 
That's cool, I'm glad it worked for you!

Now that you know it works, with your equipment you can continue to use the same supplier and you'll get similar results.

As long as they continue to supply the same steel.
 
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