Bent Stock

watercrawl

Active Member
I recently ordered several small pieces of 52100 and AEB-L in sizes ranging from 1.5" x 12" to 1.5" x 18" and a few 2" x 10" pieces as well all approximately 0.10" thick.

I ordered these as I thought they would be good sizes to start with and they're good steels in case I happen to get lucky with one of them and make a decent knife.

However, several (more than half) of the pieces are warped slightly making a "U". The warp is very even like it came off of a gigantic roll of steel and was never flat. However, several of the pieces are very flat. No rhyme or reason to the sizes or steel types that are flat versus bent. The worst of the pieces is a 12" long piece that if laid flat, rises 3/64" in the middle.

Is this normal? Never ordered steel before.
 
The steel was probably "rolled" to thickness before the pieces were cut to their final dimensions. In my experience, it's not uncommon that the stock isn't perfectly straight in every case, especially as you get down to thinner dimensions.
 
Yes, I talked to the supplier and it's not uncommon. It was pretty easy to bend it back straight. I just didn't know and wanted to ask before I called them.
 
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