Description Thick Len Wid Price Qty Stock

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .124 in 11.6 in 1.5 in $19.00
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✓
 BSA8M-0124-116015 4

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .124 in 23.5 in 1.8 in $46.30
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✓
 BSA8M-0124-235018 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .124 in 23.5 in 1.9 in $48.80
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✓
 BSA8M-0124-235019 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .124 in 11.6 in 3.0 in $38.10
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✓
 BSA8M-0124-116030 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .124 in 23.5 in 3.0 in $77.10
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✓
 BSA8M-0124-235030 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .124 in 23.5 in 6.0 in $154.20
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✓
 BSA8M-0124-235060 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .124 in 23.5 in 11.6 in $298.20
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✓
 BSA8M-0124-235116 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 11.6 in 1.3 in $18.10
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-116013 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 11.6 in 1.5 in $20.90
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-116015 4

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 23.5 in 1.5 in $42.30
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-235015 11

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 11.6 in 2.0 in $27.80
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-116020 9

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 23.5 in 2.0 in $56.40
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-235020 6

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 23.5 in 2.1 in $59.20
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-235021 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 23.5 in 2.4 in $67.70
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-235024 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 11.6 in 2.5 in $34.80
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-116025 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 11.6 in 3.0 in $41.80
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-116030 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 23.5 in 3.0 in $84.60
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-235030 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 23.5 in 5.6 in $157.90
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-235056 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 23.5 in 6.0 in $169.20
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-235060 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 23.5 in 11.5 in $324.20
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-235115 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .136 in 23.5 in 11.6 in $327.00
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✓
 BSA8M-0136-235116 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, Flat Ground

 .166 in 23.5 in 1.9 in $90.10
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✓
 BSA8M-0166-235019G 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 11.6 in 1.5 in $27.60
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-116015 4

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 11.6 in 1.6 in $29.50
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-116016 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 23.5 in 1.6 in $59.70
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-235016 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 11.6 in 2.0 in $36.80
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-116020 10

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 23.5 in 2.0 in $74.60
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-235020 3

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 23.5 in 2.1 in $78.40
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-235021 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 23.5 in 2.4 in $89.60
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-235024 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 11.6 in 2.6 in $47.90
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-116026 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 11.6 in 2.7 in $49.70
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-116027 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 11.6 in 3.0 in $55.30
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-116030 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 23.5 in 3.0 in $111.90
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-235030 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 23.5 in 6.0 in $223.90
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-235060 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .180 in 23.5 in 11.6 in $432.80
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✓
 BSA8M-0180-235116 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, Flat Ground

 .202 in 23.5 in 2.8 in $153.60
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✓
 BSA8M-0202-235028G 1

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, Flat Ground

 .225 in 11.6 in 2.8 in $82.40
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✓
 BSA8M-0225-116028G 2

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .240 in 11.6 in 2.8 in $37.20
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✓
 BSA8M-0240-116028 10

A8 Modified Carbon Steel, HRDA

 .240 in 23.5 in 2.8 in $75.30
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✓
 BSA8M-0240-235028 10


 

Steel Glossary:
B/U CPM CG
CRA CRHT ESR
FG FGHT HRA
HRDA HRPA
See All Blade Materials By Thickness:

InformationA8 Modified Carbon Steel Information and Composition

Condition:
Our A8 Modified has been properly annealed and is in the soft condition. You do not have to do any non-standard wasteful processes before heat treating. The steel must be heat treated to get to a hardened state. Follow the heat treat recipe and the steel will harden.

Ratings:
75 = Maximum Toughness
35 = Maximum Edge Holding

The rating scale is 0-100, 0 being minimum and 100 being maximum. The ratings are the maximum potential of the alloy. I do not recommend heat treating to the maximum value. Choose a heat treat recipe that results in the attributes you want.

Thank you to Dr Larrin Thomas for all the testing he performed and information he has provided. Buy his book Knife Engineering to learn more about knifemaking.

Alloy Comparison Table:

Description:
A very tough alloy steel. The most common use for this alloy is wood chipper blades. It has extreme toughness with good edge holding.

We do not disclose the mill where this alloy is made. The mill is located in Europe and has very tight tolerances for alloys they produce.

Flat Ground:
Any alloy that has “Flat Ground” in the description has been Blanchard ground. Our tolerances for flat grinding are +-.001” across 12”. You can identify Blanchard grinding by circular grind marks. Do not be mislead by other descriptions. Others try to pass off less accurate types of grinding with lower tolerances as flat grinding. This is why we call out our tolerances.

Information Sources:
There are many sources of information regarding knifemaking. Some sources, like Dr. Larrin Thomas of Knife Steel Nerds, are excellent. Other sources are not as credible. It is important to vet the your information sources. Be careful of anyone who says the way to heat treat 1095 or O1 is to heat to non-magnetic and quench in used motor oil. Anyone who publishes this type of information is not credible. When possible, we use information from manufacturers and industry experts.

AI Information:
The latest trend of bad information is from Artificial Intelligence (AI). Multiple companies have AI programs. AI collects and compiles information. The problem is, AI is does not know if the information is accurate or garbage. When asked, AI regurgitates and merges good and bad data. Beware of AI data when researching materials. If you read material information that sounds like it was written by a poetry graduate student, compares materials that are not similar, contains blatantly false information, etc, it was probably AI generated. At AKS, we never use AI to generate material information.

Data Sheet:
Walter Metals A8 Data Sheet

Heat TreatA8 Modified Heat Treat Information:

Preheat: It is very important to preheat A8 Modified. Here is the results of testing we performed:
Coupon 1: Heated at a rate not exceeding 400°F per hour up to 1,450°F and paused. Heated slowly to 1,850°F. Began 30 minute soak.
Coupon 2: Put in oven at 1,450°F. One hour ramp up to 1,850°F. Began 30 minute soak.
Coupon 3: Put in oven at 1,850°F. Began 30 minute soak.

As quenched hardness:
Coupon 1: 61 HRC
Coupon 2: 61 HRC
Coupon 3: 57 HRC

Austenitize: It is critical to not exceed the maximum austenitize temperature. If you overshoot the maximum temperature by a small amount, toughness will go down dramatically.

Heat to 1,750-1,900°F and hold for 30 minutes.

Quench: Plate, air or medium oil quench.

Temper: Temper immediately after quenching. Temper for two hours minimum. Two temper cycles are recommended if you are tempering at 900°F or hotter.

Use the graph below to select your temperatures:

CertsA8 Modified Certs

Chemical Composition Certification*

  1. Click on the button below to get the chemical composition of the steel you purchased.
  2. You will be required to enter the three character code written in red letters on your steel.
  3. If you do not see red letters on the steel, your specific chemical composition is not in the system.

Lookup Cert
 
* This material is NOT certified for medical or aerospace applications.
  .

B/U: Bohler / Uddeholm

Bohler and Uddeholm are two large steel companies based in Europe. Both companies make high quality steel alloys and are subsidiaries of Voestalpine.

Cross Grain:

Steel is toughest when it is cut with the grain. However, we occasionally get pieces that were cut across the grain. We call this “cross grain”. The cross grain billets are discounted.

CRA: Cold Rolled Annealed

Cold rolled steel has a nice finish. The surface is bright and smooth. It can be darker on the edges of the sheet showing some heat coloring from annealing. Cold rolled alloys have minimal runout. The steel is annealed (soft).

CRHT: Cold Rolled Heat Treated

Cold rolled heat treated applies to only some 15N20. The steel is heat treated to approximately HRC 45. This alloy is used extensively for sawmill bandsaw blades. The sawmills require the steel be heat treated.

Even though this 15N20 is heat treated, it is not full hard. It is easy to work with metal working tools. When drilling this 15N20, It is important to keep constant pressure and use a lubricant.

ESR: Electroslag Remelt

Electroslag remelting is a process of remelting and refining a steel alloy to make it cleaner. The result is very clean steel. The steel is annealed (soft).

FG: Flat Ground

The AKS definition of flat ground is +- .001 inch runout across 12 inches. The surface of the steel is ground until it is bare steel with a uniform grind pattern. The front and back of the billet are parallel.

FGHT: Flat Ground Heat Treated

Flat ground heat treated applies to only some 15N20. The steel is heat treated to approximately HRC 45. This alloy is used extensively for sawmill bandsaw blades. The sawmills require the steel be heat treated.

Even though this 15N20 is heat treated, it is not full hard. It is easy to work with metal working tools. When drilling this 15N20, It is important to keep constant pressure and use a lubricant.

The AKS definition of flat ground is +- .001 inch runout across 12 inches. The surface of the steel is ground until it is bare steel with a uniform grind pattern. The front and back of the billet are parallel.

HRA: Hot Rolled Annealed

Hot rolled steel has mill scale and is dirty on the surface of the steel. The mill scale is easily removed by multiple processes such as pickling or sand blasting. The steel is annealed (soft).

HRDA: Hot Rolled Descaled Annealed

The steel is heated and run between rollers to achieve the desired thickness. As the steel cools, scale forms on the surface of the sheet. The scale is removed by sand blasting or shot blasting. After blasting, the surface of the sheet has a rough finish. The steel is annealed (soft).

HRPA: Hot Rolled Pickled Annealed

The steel is heated and run between rollers to achieve the desired thickness. As the steel cools, scale forms on the surface of the sheet. The scale is removed by immersing the sheet in a bath of acid. The process is called pickling. The acid removes the scale. After pickling, the surface of the sheet has a rough finish. The steel is annealed (soft).

PESR: Pressurized Electroslag Remelt

PG: Precision Ground

The AKS definition of precision ground is less than .001 inch runout across 12 inches.

PM: Particle Metallurgy

Alloys using particle metallurgy processes are made from powdered metal. The powder is put in a can and pressed into a solid billet in a hot isostatic press.

CPM: Crucible Particle Metallurgy

Crucible is a steel company based in USA. They produce multiple steel alloys. Some of the alloys are made using the Crucible Particle Metallurgy i.e. CPM process.

The first step in the CPM process is heating the steel until it is a liquid. The liquid is sprayed through a small nozzle and forms into a powder. The steel powder is packed into a steel container that is welded shut. The container containing the powder is placed into a hot isostatic press or HIP. The HIP heats the container and compresses the steel powder into a solid billet. After the billet cools the container is removed. The remaining billet has a consistent composition.

The major advantage of the CPM process is producing alloys that would not be possible using traditional steel production processes.

CG: Cross Grain

Steel is toughest when it is cut with the grain. However, we occasionally get pieces that were cut across the grain. We call this “cross grain”. The cross grain billets are discounted.


BSA8M BSA8M-0040 BSA8M-0060 BSA8M-0080 BSA8M-0100 BSA8M-0120 BSA8M-0140 BSA8M-0160 BSA8M-0180 BSA8M-0200 BSA8M-0220 BSA8M-0240 BSA8M-0260
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A8 Modified Carbon Steel
Average rating:  
 1 reviews
 by Evan Siembida

I love this stuff for hard use blades. I’ve been using it for years and it has yet to let me down. Extreme toughness, easy to sharpen and it’s semi stainless due to just enough chromium, it’ll stay shiny and clean looking instead of darkening with a patina from use.



I aim for 60Rc and it’s one of my personally favorite alloys. Try it, you’ll love it.