AEB-L Heat Treating for the first time

C

CNCMAN

Member
I purchased some AEB-L here at USA Knife and just bought a Hot Shot oven (model 360-K). I plan on putting it in my freezer for the cold cycle. Just a few questions:

1. Can someone recommend a recipe for heat treating this material if I am going to use the freezer. It was suggested that the recipe will differ based upon who manufactured the AEB-L.

2. My hot shot oven has the Sentinel controller. How do I determine the appropriate ramp rate when moving from one temperature to another. What is a good starting point?

This is the recipe I found online from Gemeni:

Based on testing and published recommendations by Dr. Larrin Thomas (Knife Steel Nerds), the heat treatment recipe for AEB-L when using a standard home freezer for sub-zero cooling is as follows:

AEB-L Heat Treat Recipe (Home Freezer Sub-Zero)​

  1. Austenitizing (Hardening):
    • Temperature: 1900°F (1038°C)
      (Note: When using a freezer instead of dry ice or liquid nitrogen, 1900°F is recommended to prevent excessive retained austenite).
    • Soak Time: 15 minutes (in stainless steel heat-treat foil).
  2. Quench:
    • Plate quench between aluminum blocks immediately until room temperature / safe to handle.
  3. Sub-Zero Treatment (Home Freezer):
    • Timing: Put the blade into the freezer immediately following the quench (do not delay or insert a pre-temper, as martensite transformation is an extension of the quench).
    • Duration: 60 minutes (or until the steel fully drops to the freezer's temperature).
  4. Tempering:
    • Temperature: 300°F to 350°F (149°C to 177°C) depending on desired hardness.
    • Cycles: Two tempers for 2 hours each, cooling to room temperature in between cycles.
  • Expected Hardness:* ~62.5–63 HRC.
 
Follow his treat recommendations to a T! But we warned your actual oven temps may not be matching his recipe. The ONLY way to know is with having it RH tested
 
Note the discussion on another board about the Austenitizing temp - 1900°F is too low. Larrin suggests 1950°F for freezer with AEB-L.... Note, from what I read in your post the info came from AI which pulled it from Larrin and made a mistake in the pulling.

Coop is correct, ideally 3 or 4 coupons would be HT'd in the oven at 1925, 1950, 1975, etc with Rc tested on each coupon to determine best temp in YOUR oven. Ovens do vary.
 
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