JM,
I buy a great deal of steel from NJSB--my favorite supplier.
I buy my old files from a local surplus dealer called The Yard (every town should have a store like this).
I used to get 3 files for a dollar and I would only accept Black Diamonds. I still have a stack of them annealed and ready to go for any project that calls for one.
I find that wet sanding by hand in ferric chloride will give a Black Diamond knife a flat black finish almost identical to Parkerizing. It goes deep too--the more you work it with the sand paper and FC, the darker and more durable the finish becomes. That was a fun discovery. It's good blade steel.
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