Description Thick Len Wid Price Qty Stock

A2 Carbon Steel, HRDA

.210 in 11.6 in 1.5 in $28.70
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BSA2-0210-116015 8

A2 Carbon Steel, HRDA

.210 in 23.5 in 1.5 in $58.10
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BSA2-0210-235015 4

A2 Carbon Steel, HRDA

.210 in 11.6 in 1.8 in $34.40
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BSA2-0210-116018 1

A2 Carbon Steel, HRDA

.210 in 11.6 in 2.0 in $38.20
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BSA2-0210-116020 5

A2 Carbon Steel, HRDA

.210 in 23.5 in 2.0 in $77.40
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BSA2-0210-235020 5

A2 Carbon Steel, HRDA

.210 in 23.5 in 6.0 in $232.30
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BSA2-0210-235060 1

A2 Carbon Steel, HRDA

.210 in 23.5 in 11.6 in $449.00
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BSA2-0210-235116 2


A2 Carbon Steel Information and Composition

Condition:
Our A2 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:
29 = Maximum Toughness
33 = 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 high carbon alloy steel. A2 is known for taking a very fine keen edge. The chromium provides some corrosion resistance.

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 Sheets:
Bohler A2 Data Sheet
Crucible A2 Data Sheet


A2 Heat Treat Information:

Preheat: Heat to 1,100-1,250°F, equalize temperature, then to 1,350-1,450°F. Equalize temperature.

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.

1,750-1,800°F, hold at temperature 30-45 minutes.

Quench: Plate, air or positive pressure quench to below 125°F.

Temper: At least twice at 400-1,000°F for 2 hours minimum each time. Cool to room temperature between tempers.

Cryogenic Treating: After the first temper may improve long term dimensional stability by transforming retained austenite. Any cryogenic treatment must be followed by a temper.

Use the graph below to select your temperatures:


CertsA2 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.
  .

BSA2 BSA2-0040 BSA2-0060 BSA2-0080 BSA2-0100 BSA2-0120 BSA2-0140 BSA2-0160 BSA2-0180 BSA2-0200 BSA2-0220 BSA2-0240 BSA2-0260
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A2 Carbon Steel
Average rating:  
 1 reviews
 by Scott

I wish Alpha would get more A2 in stock. The lots I've received from them have hardened very well and have made excellent blades at HRC 62.