Anybody know where it was likely produced?
Coming from another retired military guy......... As far as I know, Aldo has the majority of his steel produced in Germany. It's not that he doesn't want it produced in the U.S...... it because he cannot find anywhere in the U.S. to have it produced. In the U.S. we have almost no facilities that are producing "new" steel.... and particularly specific grades of steel that we would use in Bladesmithing/Knifemaking. With a few exceptions for the "specialty" knife steel (mostly the stainless varieties/CPM) you can bet it was produced
outside the U.S. Way back when Aldo first got into the steel business, it was a time when many steel producers in this country were shutting down/going out of business. Aldo went around to these companies, and purchase the "melts" (these are usually 30,000lb "blocks" of steel) they had in their storage yards. He then contracted facilities to roll those "blocks" into sizes usable for knifemakers. Somewhere in that time frame I found out what he was doing, and ordered 1,000lbs of 1084 in various sizes. Every since, Aldo has been one of my "trusted" sources, simply because I am confident that when I purchase from him, I'm getting the best steel quality I can.
I've been around this business long enough to be able to tell you, it has never been more difficult to find/procure quality steel for Bladesmithing/Knifemaking than right now. It's even more difficult to cultivate a "trusted" source. Over the last decade, I've tried various "sources" for steel, and more times then not, have been fleeced. I've received steel that wasn't what I ordered, and in a couple of instances, received steel that I found was intentionally misrepresented as being something it wasn't. For one reason or another, I've pretty much eliminated all but two sources for the steel I use. The part that has always staggered me is the number of Makers who simply look for the cheapest price on a given steel, and pay no heed to the quality of that steel, or how it affects their end product. An example is a company who will remain unnamed, that was offering what many called "incredible" prices on ATS34...... long story short, the company was selling "seconds".....steel that contained voids and/or slag inclusions. As Bladesmiths/Knifemakers, it's simply foolish to assume that no matter where you acquire steel, that it's going to be quality steel.
The vast majority of steel sources/distributors in the U.S. sell steel that's produced outside this country, simply because it's not being produced domestically.
I have to echo the "quality" call. Speaking only for myself, I consider Aldo the ONLY source to go to when I want top quality steel (of the forging variety).... which is the majority of the time.
Honestly, my advice to anyone who's looking to buy "knife" steel is...... when you find a trusted source, that offers quality steel, buy as much as you can possibly afford. It's never going to be any cheaper, and it's not going to "go bad" on the shelf. It really comes down to a choice. At one time I insisted that all the steel I use was "made in the USA"......but my choices came down to..... stick to those guns and not have steel to use, or purchase the best quality steel I could/can, regardless of where it was produced. Some might view it as "caving in" but I chose the later.