Unfortunately I do not have a way to check the hardness. A file skates cleanly over the edge. The knife was hollow ground on a 12" wheel.
The edge at the chip is .007" and the back of the chip is .013"
It seems hard, I was just surprised that it chipped out. I finish ground it after ht with dips in water if not every pass, every other pass. I made two knives, and the one that didn't chip sharpened out well, but needed touch ups sooner than I thought it might. Anyway, the ht went as follows:
"1,940°F Austenitize: Ramp to 1,940°F and hold at temperature for 15 minutes. Oil or plate or air quench as quickly as possible.
1,975°F Austenitize: Ramp to 1,975°F and hold at temperature for 5 minutes. Oil or plate or air quench as quickly as possible.
Cryogenic Treating: To get the most from AEB-L you must cryo. Cool to -95 °F. No soak is required."
I plate quenched with .75" aluminum plate and forced air.
The only different thing I did was to temper once at 400 for about 1.5 hours.
My kiln will get to 1975 in about 10 minutes, so the ramp up seemed appropriate.