52100 or aebl?

Justin.schmidt23

Active Member
Well gents after acquiring a 2x42 and ruining about 7ft of HD metal I'm ready to step it up to real metal. Imy on a very tight budget due to only being on disability. So I have about a 30 dollar budget for some steel. I'm in West central florida so humidity sucks. But should I start off with 52100 or AEBL? AKS has the best prices on steel right now so that's probably where I will go
And I'll be sending these off for HT next pay period. Thank you
 
AEB-L is a favorite of mine. I live in Tampa, so I understand your concerns about humidity. What are you planning to do with the knife? What kind of knife? How thick?

I cut my blanks and then have them heat treated. I grind the knives after heat treat, but I only use 1/8 and thinner.
 
Hi Justin,
I an understand your humidity concerns and after using both of those steels, I think I'd go with the stainless. 52100 is a favorite of mine for many reasons, first, it's a very inexpensive steel to buy. Second, it seemed to me to be relatively easy to grind, and third, boy, it takes a wicked sharp edge. Also it heat treats easier than a lot of steels. But the drawbacks are the blemishes that will show quickly if put in a sheath, even at high humidity, so forget about leaving it wet, even for a small amount of time. Citrus and fruit can be hard on the surface as well leaving a stain.
I'd go stainless if money allows, heat treat may be a bit testier, but I'm sure you can handle that.


Wayne
 
Thanks Wayne I appreciate your input. I planned on sending it off to trugrit.com they seem to be the cheapest and they have cyro which is important for AEBL
 
recently I've been using some 12C27 stainless that I get from Admiral steel, it's priced right, grinds easily and takes a really nice edge. it might be worth taking a look at along with AEBL. the bummer with steel is the shipping cost.
 
recently I've been using some 12C27 stainless that I get from Admiral steel, it's priced right, grinds easily and takes a really nice edge. it might be worth taking a look at along with AEBL. the bummer with steel is the shipping cost.

Yeah especially down here in Florida. I think Aldo charges like 30 bucks for a 4' section. Aks is like 12.
Hey Steve do yall have any members near ocala I'm about 30 min outside if ocala
 
Which one you choose may depend on you're market. Some people just don't like stainless, some just don't like carbon. Price difference seems negligible, a dollar or 2 per piece for those two steels, with AEB-L being slightly more expensive. Performance differences for the end user will be mostly negligible, or at least up to the HT and geometry. AEB-L has slightly higher wear resistance, but lower hardness potential. I'd expect 52100 to be slightly tougher at the same hardness, but it depends on the HT parameters. That may not matter, depending on the use of the knife. Obviously corrosion resistance will be rather different. If you're heat treating it yourself, you may have an easier time of 52100, but that all depends on your equipment. If you're using a forge, AEB-L is right out. If you have an oven that will get to 2100 or so degrees and consistently hold it, either one would work fine.
 
Back
Top