View Single Post
  #6  
Old 09-19-2017, 02:15 AM
jimmontg jimmontg is offline
Guru
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Now live in Las Cruces NM.
Posts: 1,345
The Parks 50 is faster than the oil my company used

But it will be fine if you heat it up to m120-130. Pleases note I said you may be able to check and straighten right after quench. SamaraiStuart turned me on to that procedure for O1 steel and it works! I would guess it may very well work with AEB-L as it does work for D2. Wear gloves and see, the temp should be a bit uncomfortable for your bare hands at 120-130, just hurry as the effect doesn't last long. With this steel that is the most picky part of it, check and straighten then into the fridge it goes, or water with ice cubes in it, slowly. I am afraid of thermo shock, which is why I worry about going direct to the dry ice, some makers say it doesn't make a difference, but I made knives out of 3/16ths thick or .187 and I did have a blade go Tink! when I placed it directly on the -105F dry ice. Never had that problem if I put it into the 0 degree freezer first. Thickness determines time in freezer.

I worked in a machine shop and had access to 2" thick aluminum plates and I left them in the fridge to cool off a bit. I used plate quench for D2 steel and it worked rather well, same as the 440C. To be honest I did a ton more D2 than 440C or AEB-L. Same for O1 tool steel, which I consider one of the easiest steels to HT if you have an oven.
AEB-L is the easiest stainless steel to HT. The simple dry ice cryo is a great addition to the steel. Without dry ice I wouldn't even use this steel. The alloy makes great knives and is probably the most used steel for knives in Scandinavia. It was originally made to make razor blades. I moved recently and when, or if I am able to get a HT oven, AEB-L will be at the top of my list for stainless knives and O1 for high carbon steel. The highest price I ever got was for a set of knives made from AEB-L, at RC 59-60 it is a good kitchen knife, but does need a diamond sharpener at that hardness. Most commercial knives do not come close to that degree of hardness plus decent toughness and wear resistance. There are better steels, but for simplicity AEB-L is hard to beat and it does its job well.
Reply With Quote