Working High Alloy L-6 vs. Low Alloy L-6

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anonymous76

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This is my first post on this forum. I started making knives over 30 years ago, however circumstances made it necessary for me to take an 11 year hiatus. I am just starting up again and the first material I chose to use is L-6 due to its toughness. I plan on spending a great deal of time working out the forging and heat treating variables of this material. As many of you are no doubt aware there is more than one version of L-6. I have acquired 2 bars of L-6 of identical size (1 1/8 inch round X 36 inch), but different alloys. One is basic L-6 lacking Mo and V, the other has Mo (0.5) and V (0.2). Has anyone here had experience with these two versions of this tool steel? Any suggestions on forging and heat treating will be appreciated. I am particularly concerned about the effect of Mo on the properties of the richer alloy.
 
P.Brewster thanks for the reply. My bad. I completely missed Cashen's lengthy post about L-6. The problem is i searched for "L-6" and not "L6". I missed quite a few posts as a result. I was hoping for specific information about the working properties of the two different types (i.e. forging ranges, annealing techniques, hardening temperatures and tempering ranges). I assume that the molybdenum will result in a difference in these variables. The real problem is I don't believe I have ever forged a Mo bearing steel in the past (just 1095, 5160, 52100 and O-1). I'm just trying to get off on the right foot. Cashen's site does give a breakdown of L-6, but doesn't really go into the differences in the working characteristics between the two versions (unless I missed it). I will continue to look through past posts and hopefully dig up what I need. Thanks.
 
anonymous76 said:
P.Brewster thanks for the reply. My bad. I completely missed Cashen's lengthy post about L-6. The problem is i searched for "L-6" and not "L6". I missed quite a few posts as a result. I was hoping for specific information about the working properties of the two different types (i.e. forging ranges, annealing techniques, hardening temperatures and tempering ranges). I assume that the molybdenum will result in a difference in these variables. The real problem is I don't believe I have ever forged a Mo bearing steel in the past (just 1095, 5160, 52100 and O-1). I'm just trying to get off on the right foot. Cashen's site does give a breakdown of L-6, but doesn't really go into the differences in the working characteristics between the two versions (unless I missed it). I will continue to look through past posts and hopefully dig up what I need. Thanks.
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I don’t think heat treat is much different, but tempering response might be specific to each version. We have charpy samples of each coming up to see if there is much difference. My samples had no moly or vanadium.
 
are you certain the V is o.2 and not .02..?....I've used both of the versions you listed, as have others.....
and prefer the one with Mo. as it hardens a bit better, and retains hardness better through tempering.
 
And the bad news is that event non-moly stuff will air harden out of the forge. :p You might want look at 52100.
 
Willie71, I can't wait to see what your tests on L6 show.

Russ, it is actually 0.2 - 0.3 vanadium
http://www.diehlsteel.com/products/tool-steel/l-6
They will sell to individuals (not just companies), but it isn't cheap.

JDM61, I suspected as much which is why I wanted to know what temperature ranges to forge at. I expect that I will have to forge at higher temperatures to avoid red hardness. With this in mind I think I will get better blades (finer grain) from the vanadium bearing alloy. I used 52100 from McMaster for years and I really liked it, but now I am looking to make knives that can take a maximum level of abuse. Obviously I could go for one of the S series tool steels, but I do not like the high Mo and/or relatively low carbon contents of these steels.
 
The chemistry for L-6 shown on that website are "nominal", not what you're likely to see if the steel
were tested for composition. It's a good practice to ask for a copy of the "Certified Test Result" whenever
ordering.
 
Paul, good info. Not quite what I expected. Had I seen this before I bought the L-6 I probably would have stuck with 5160. Oh well. I have enough 5160 and L-6 to play around with for quite a while. I don't plan on making any finished knives for a long time. Until I get this worked out and get consistent test blades anyway.
 
Russ was exactly right. I got stung by this lesson. I just compared certificates from both suppliers and the composition of the two bars are virtually identical. In the future I will NOT go by the "analysis" I see on a website and try to get the certification on the material first before I buy. I now have twice as much of the material than I needed (ha ha). Oh well, they are different melts though, but I suspect they are from the same source.
 
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