HeatTreatBench · knife steel heat-treat recipes

AEB-L Heat Treat Recipe

Stainless knife steel · target 61–64 HRC · austenitize 1950°F (1066°C)

plate
CategoryStainless
Austenitize (recommended)1950°F (1066°C)
Austenitize range1925–1975°F (1052–1079°C)
Preheat1450°F (788°C)
Soak at temperature5–15 min
QuenchPlate quench (between aluminum plates)
Cryo / sub-zeroRequired — dry ice or LN2 (right after quench)
Temper2× 2 h · cool to room temp between cycles
Reliable hardness59–64 HRC
Fine-grained stainless — superb edge, low wear resistance. Plate quench + cryo right after to convert retained austenite.

Temper → hardness chart

Approximate HRC after a double-temper at each temperature (from the sources below). Set your target and pick the matching temper.

Temper °FTemper °CHardness
300°F149°C64 HRC
350°F177°C62 HRC
400°F204°C61 HRC
450°F232°C62 HRC

Composition (typical, wt%)

Element%
C0.67%
Cr13%
Mn0.6%
Si0.4%

Uddeholm AEB-L datasheet

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Sources

More Stainless steels

14C28N1950°F · 58–62 HRCNitro-V1900°F · 58–64 HRCMagnaCut2050°F · 59–63 HRCCPM-1541950°F · 60–62 HRCCPM-S30V1950°F · 58.5–60.5 HRCM3902050°F · 60–62 HRC