Trusted Knife Steel Sources

i4Marc

i4Marc

Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Messages
4,990
Much has been discussed about problems with steel from certain sources. Can we start a list here of reputable knife steel sources that offer steel, with certs, that comes in a state that is favorable to reliable heat treating results? List sources that sell to small operations in small quantities as well as large orders. Provide links if you can.
 
Admiral steel will provide certs on request. When my ISO 9001:2015 company buys 1095, it buys it from Admiral. Small quantities, buy from the online store http://www.admiralsteel.com/shop/ for plate/sheet quantities contact them directly.

Buffalo Precision Products (formerly flatground.com) is Voestalpine/Uddeholm and will sell direct the grades they have in stock in the US. Contact Andy andrew.walters@uddeholm.com The A2/O1/D2 products that BPP sells are Precision Marshal and while I've never had an issue with them hardening, every single thing that I've made from Precision Marshal steel of any grade has etched in a blotchy tigerstripe pattern that can occasionally even show up through a high grit finish without etching, or show up in parkerizing. So I can't recommend anything from BPP but Voestalpine/Uddeholm grades. https://www.buffaloprecision.com/usa/en-us/

Niagara Specialty Metals for CPM, though it will be more expensive than buying from a smaller distributor. https://www.nsm-ny.com/

Zapp will sell Zwear and their other alloys direct. ron.ferris@zapp.com
 
I'm in Sweden, but I thought I'd chime in.

I'm very happy with GFS Knife Supplies in the UK.
  • They're great to do business with, extremely service minded
  • They also have a great selection of steels, fast delivery and reasonable shipping rates (even for international shipping)
  • Their steel is always very well packaged and each bar is paper wrapped and thoroughly labeled (steel type, composition etc)
  • The steel is surface ground and delivered in a state that can be used without any preparation steps
I've never ever had any problem with their steel, which is more than I can say about other suppliers I've tried.
 
Awesome. Thanks. If there are more, keep them coming. :thumbsup:

Good sources for quality W2?
 
Alpha Knife Supply
Alphaknifesupply.com
Chuck has always responded to my questions quickly and his shipping rates are very reasonable.
 
Alpha knife has 26C3. Pretty good steel for Hamon (although W2 produces better Hamon), if that’s what you’re after. I am very happy with them.
 
I've never had an issue with any steel from AKS, but that's completely anecdotal without certs. I will continue to buy from them because I've never had an issue.
 
AKS. I disagree with Stuart about w2 creating a better hamon (except for Don Hanson’s unicorn w2 of course).
26c3 makes a beautiful hamon on par with anything else out there imo.
 
is cpm-154 all made by the same factory?, meaning it should be the same quality no matter who sells it? if so, any other steels with that same set of circumstances ?
 
john april said:
is cpm-154 all made by the same factory?, meaning it should be the same quality no matter who sells it? if so, any other steels with that same set of circumstances ?
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CPM-154 is a brand name of Crucible so only they can produce it under that name. Anything with CPM in the name would be in the same boat.
 
I have some of Don's W2 in rounds. Would like to find a good source for readily available bar stock in the sizes we like.

I'll look a little deeper into 26C3. Maybe Larrin will do an article comparing W2 with 26C3 in the future? ;)
 
JTknives said:
have you done much business with them or used a lot of the steel from NJSB?
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Yes I have. Aldo is top notch. I am not to far from him and usually pick my steel up. He has incredible supplies and prices. He has a lot of equipment as well to cut, surface finish, waterjet anything you may need.
 
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jll346 said:
Yes I have. Aldo is top notch. I am not to far from him and usually pick my steel up. He has incredible supplies and prices. He has a lot of equipment as well to cut, surface finish, waterjet anything you may need.
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Comment retracted do to new information.
 
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