Admiral L6

[smird]

Admiral Steel is no longer selling L6 they've replaced it with 8670M . Do to the lower nickle it most likely not contrast as well in damascus patterns.

So what are some other sources for L6??


Brad

[R. Guess]

Sheffield Knifemakers Supply carries 15n20. .75C and about the same nickle as L6. I have used it with 1084 and 1095. Good contrast. It is .049 X 1.5". A 36" piece is $5.00...
72" is $9.50.

[Drunkenduck]

Another source for 15n20 is Kelly Cupples. To take a look at what he has go to www.elliscustomknifeworks.com and click on the box for steel. Cupples has good prices and will shear it for you too.

Doug Lester

[fitzo]

The steel Admiral has sold as L6 flatstock for the past several years (up to 5) has been 8670M. It had been mis-identified. There was a thread a few months back on Bladeforums Shoptalk that caused Admiral to investigate their "L6" and they discovered it had been substituted by a vendor without their knowledge when they placed a substantial order years ago. The long and short of it is that L6 flatstock is rare in thicker sections nowadays, so somewhere along the line a supplier decided that "saw steel is saw steel" and sent 8670M. If you search on "Admiral L6" over on Bladeforums, you should be able to dig up the thread. It was called something like "Admiral Steel analysis."

In other words, if you have been using their "L6 flatstock" for making damascus with good results, you can continue to do so. All they did was change the name to reflect the truth of what they'd been selling all along.

Hope that helps clarify the issue.

[Anthony Chaney]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I've been looking for Fitz.

Hey buddy, I haven't talked with you in ages. My pc crashed and I lost your email addy. I hope your health is doing well. I miss chatting with you. My email is firstnamedotlastnameathotmaildotcom give me a shout sometime.

[smird]

Thanks guys, I new I'd get an answer here. I like the "L6" because I like to make lower layer count damascus and the 15n20 is just too thin

Brad

[fitzo]

Brad, Ron Duncan doubles up his 15n20 all the time and gets real good welds. He does his own pattern where he does several edge folds in the process and never has any delamination problems that I know of. It also leaves a hairthin line of dark in the center of each shiny stripe. Sort of cool looking. Just wanted to mention it will weld to itself, in case` you ever wanted to try it.

Another piece of info: Admiral said on that thread that when this stuff is gone, they won't be getting more, nor any replacement L6. If that's true, you might want to consider stocking up. Take care!

Anthony, I'll drop you a line tomorrow. Wondered what became of Waco and vicinity...