AEB-L for San-Mai?

I've heard of others trying it....but never of it being successful. I've not tried it myself, but have been told by others that AEB-L will usually fragment when you try to forge weld it outside of an inert atmosphere. 416, 410, or 316 are you best bets. 410 sheet is fairly cheap, and works reasonably well....although not as easily as 416.... in my experience.
 
Last edited:
The ONLY success I have with SS San-Mai, is dry welding it..... in a "can" format. I surface grind ALL mating faces to at least 120 grit. With nitrile or latex gloves on.... I clean the mating faces with acetone, clamp together, then MIG weld the entire perimeter. The exterior layers of SS are the outsides of the "can".

Now... for me, the following is ALWAYS the difference between success and failure..... BEFORE you start welding the perimeter of the billet, have your forge running and up to temp! THEN.... weld the perimeter of the billet, get a handle on it (if you use one) and get it into the forge! Why?

Here's the explanation.... If you're are like me, or most Bladesmiths, you are not a top shelf MIG/TIG/STICK welder, and are likely going to have some pin holes somewhere along the weld around the perimeter of the billet. If you weld that perimeter, then allow the billet to cool... as it's cooling, it's sucking atmosphere into any pin hole(s).... and the forge weld WILL fail there. When you grind that perimeter MIG (or whatever) weld off, after forge welding, sometimes the billet will literally fall into 3 pieces. Other times, you won't find the problem until rough grinding, where it will show up as a cone shaped delamination, from the edge inwards..... that's a spot were there was a pin hole in your MIG/Stick/whatever weld.... and the more pin holes, the more delamination... up to a total failure. It happened to me MANY times before I realized what was happening, and the answer was so easy, it eluded me for some time.

Back to the second paragraph....
IF you have the forge running, and to temp (I try to stay in the 2370-2390F range when welding SS san-Mai) THEN weld the perimeter of the billet and get it into the forge, it doesn't have time to cool down and suck in atmosphere.

If you've not tried this before, "forge welding" SS laminates doesn't really work the same as it would with something like 1080/15N20. Hand or power hammering are the most difficult ways. This is one of those time when a press is by far the best option.
I get a billet to temp, and let it soak for about 7-11 mins (depending on size/thickness) and into the press with full flat dies. I do this twice, and more often then not, that's all the forging I do. The rest is usually stock removal. In some cases, with some straight knives, I will forge a bit, so add some "wave" to the billet(s) to enhance the finished blade(s). I know Karl Anderson is very successful at forging out the profiles, bevels, etc. but he is one of very few. Most who try to move the material too much after getting it forge welded, either cause it to delaminate, or the SS will fragment.

A couple of final notes..... Don't be surprised by the massive amount of scale you get....it's normal when soaking SS at those temps.
Annealing: Can be problematic, as it will not anneal by slow cooling in vermiculite. The first time I tried to anneal in vermiculite, I simply could not grind off the scale, and the only way to drill it, was with solid carbide. After inquiring around, I got advice to use my heat treat oven, at 1350F, for a 10 min soak, and then allow the material to cool overnight with/in the oven as it's cooling down.... since going that route it's easy to work, drill, grind, etc.
This is one of those materials that is a serious "give-n-take" in that the eye appeal in the finished product depends on carbon migration from the high carbon into the SS, but that compromises that cutting ability of the blade. When a high degree of carbon migration does not occur, the material creates a better cutting implement, but falls way short in appearance compared to a high level of carbon migration. So in short, this material is more about appearance then about usability.
 
Last edited:
I will 2nd just about everything Ed said. I mig weld all the way around the outside of the billet and throw it into the forge. Taking some advice from Karl Andersen, I leave the billet in the forge for 17 and a half minutes. That is the advice Karl got from Bill Wiggins when he first started doing stainless san mai.

Here is a blade I just etched last night. 416 with 1095 core. I started out with 1/4" 416 and 3/8" 1095.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top