Does the where you buy your blade steel matter

L

luckknives

Member
I'm new to knife making and for some upcoming projects wanted to use 440c for a new hunting knife is 440c from one place better than another
 
a couple of things to look at when buying:
what is the condition of the steel? hot rolled, cold rolled, cross rolled, precision ground, decarb free, annealed?
a piece that is annealed and precision ground may cost more to start, but will take less work to make into a finished blade. some members here have commented on buying discount steel that ended up costing more when they figured in the time and belts need to remove scale and slag.
will the seller provide a copy of the composition report that came with the steel that will detail where it was made and the chemical composition of the batch?
 
Don't worry about a few dollars here or there. You can buy 440C from USA Knife Makers/Midwest and be secure knowing that it's fine.
I buy "Shear cut rough ground". To me, its the best balance of prepared steel and cost.
 
10 years ago I would have said "NO!".....but over the last decade things have changed. Most producers of steel within the U.S. have gone out of business, and nearly all of the carbon, alloy, and Stainless steels are now imported. Where a knifemaker must use caution is that not all of the import quality standards are the same as U.S. steel once was. So what does that mean? For me it meant finding steel suppliers that I felt I could trust. I wasted a LOT of money buying steel that had "issues"....from out of specs chemistry, to slag inclusions, to steels that simply where not the "grade" they were advertised to be. Without mentioning any names, one specific knife steel supplier was actually selling O1....that was labeled as 52100! My recommendation is to do your research, buy some small quantities, and decide for yourself who you want to buy from. Personally, there are only 3 places/individuals that I will purchase steel from. All three have proven themselves to me over the years, and have never sent me any "rotten apples".
 
Ed, would you mind sharing those 3? Not trying to hijack thread, but I have a similar question on where to buy steel, not about quality, but more about sizes available. A lot of the "blade" steel providers mainly offer widths up to about 2" or so. Where can you get big sheets for waterjet cutting? Like 12"x24" or 14"x36" etc. I was trying to find 14c28n in big sizes, but no luck so far. Not even seeing 440c in bigger sizes. Ideas?
 
I don't mind sharing...... most of my damascus stock (1080, 15N20, and powdered steels) come from Kelly Cupples in Yakima, WA. I buy my stainless from http://sb-specialty-metals.com/ (CPM steels), and for other steels I go to Aldo Bruno at http://newjerseysteelbaron.com/. I have complete trust in all three, that I'm going to get the best quality of whatever grade I order. Personally, I think Aldo Bruno sells the best quality steel that I've found in the U.S. He maintains the best level of quality control I've seen....... when I want only the very best, Aldo is who I go to.

There was a time when you could find whatever size you might need, but those days are long gone. It's all about economics.....the producers require minimum orders so large that most resellers won't go there for fear of "sitting" on it forever. I can recall several conversations I've had with steel producers, asking them why knifemakers couldn't get the quality/quantity of the steel(s) we need....the response was: "Knifemakers are such a small percentage of our business, we really don't care what you want." At first that hit me wrong, but when you're talking about knifemakers buying steel by the pound, versus the rest of their customers buying it by the ton, its somewhat understandable.

SB specialty sells the CPM steels in up to 24" widths.(in the grades they carry)

14C28N is a Sandvik steel, so unless a reseller carries pieces in the size you mentioned, you'll likely have to straight to Sandvik to get it, and will likely be discouraged by the minimum quantity purchase required.

My advice to any knifemaker is that IF you find the steel you want, buy as much of it as you can afford...because its likely that it won't be ther tomorrow, it won't go bad on the shelf, and the prices will do nothing but increase. The last time I found "good" 1084, I purchased all the seller had at the time....and will likely never have to buy more. The other side of that coin is to be SURE of exactly what you are getting. As I mentioned previously, I've seen sellers advertise a specific grade of steel, only to discover it wasn't anywhere near what they were advertising. And when I called them on it, the response was "It's close enough!" NOT!!
The moral of the story is that its "buyer beware".
 
Wow, good info guys, never would have guessed! Bought my last batch of 52100 from Aldo, so I'm glad you mention him as being a food dealer? I'll keep my eyes open from now on. Thanks.
 
I was most likely going to go with usaknifemakers that's actually what turned me onto this forum to begin with I just didn't know if the one websites 440c or any other type was better than anther
 
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