Materials | Blacksmithing Basics

The first thing I did after getting my anvil and forge set up was go online and Google, “Buy metal for Blacksmithing.” And, that’s when the confusion began! I was assaulted with ads telling me to buy here!, and I was overwhelmed with articles and forums which were about metal, but not about the best places to buy it online. So here are 7 Websites "Explained" where you can Buy Metal Online for Blacksmithing: Metals DepotMcMaster-CarrAdmiral Steel LLCSpeedy Metals Online Industrial Metal SupplyNJ Steel BaronOnline MetalsBlacksmithing Depot I did the legwork so you don’t have to. I’ve searched these websites to find out What they Stock, How much they charge and How easy their website is to use. At the end of this article, I have included a Price Comparison Table that shows all of the online stores and how much they charge for several common material types! BONUS: Prices from Amazon and eBay are also included in the Price Table Below #1 Metals Depot Their website states that they have the largest inventory available in North America and that they are a world leader supplying industrial metals to the United States, Mexico, Canada, and over 140 other countries worldwide. What they Stock Metals Depot has a massive selection with over 50,000 shapes, sizes, lengths, and types of metal. They stock millions of pounds of inventory as well as work with a network of affiliated warehouses nationwide to ensure you get the metal you need. Metals Depot stocks the following: SteelAluminumStainless SteelBrass & CopperCold Finish SteelTool SteelAlloy SteelOther Services* In addition to selling metal, they also provide: Production Saw Cutting & MiteringShear CuttingFlame CuttingPlasma CuttingLaser CuttingWater Jet CuttingPlate Saw CuttingGalvanizing How easy is their website to use? They have a well laid out and intuitive home page which enables you to easily find the metal you desire. You can either search by shape, then type of metal, or you can narrow your search by type of metal and go from there. Both methods are very simple and it doesn’t take many clicks of the mouse to get to the price! #2 McMaster-Carr McMaster-Carr Supply Company supplies tools, hardware, some raw materials, maintenance equipment, and supplies. They are not a specialized metal supplier like Metals Depot but do carry high-quality metals in smaller lengths. What they Stock McMaster-Carr stocks the following metals: AluminumSteelCast IronTungsten Carbide & AlloysStainless SteelNickelTitaniumCopper, Brass & BronzeLeadTinZincCasting Alloys How easy is their website to use? McMaster-Carr’s website is not difficult to use, though it is different. It is a very simple design and affords them to offer hundreds of products with a single interface. If you think like an engineer, this website should make sense to you. The left column shows all categories while the rest of the home page shows a series of product photos subordinate to the parent categories. It seemed to be easier to scroll down until I saw “Metals” instead of looking on the left, finding “Raw Materials” then looking back to the main page and clicking “Metals.” Once there, the selection is easy enough. Select the type of metal you would like to purchase and then continue to refine selections until you get the type, shape, and size you want. #3 Admiral Steel LLC Admiral Steel is a family-owned and operated business located near Chicago Illinois, and they cater to the hobbyist as well as fortune 500 companies. They have a product list of over 1300 items and they have a specific Blade Steel On-Line Store, linked on their home page. TIP: Check out Admiral Steel’s Online Reference Library They have a very helpful collection of articles including a Metals Glossary, Hardness Conversion Information, and Heat Treating Information. What they Stock Admiral Steel stocks the following metals: Spring, Strip, & Alloy SteelsStainless & Specialty Blade SteelsBuilding & Construction ProductsWindow Wells & GratesBars, Shapes, & Structural Steels Admiral Steel stocks an immense selection of steel, however, I was only able to find an online store for Blade Steel. For any material other than that found on the blade store you have to use their online catalog. The catalog is of a standard and professional design giving the expected related specifications save price. Since this article is about buying metal online, I will not go into more detail regarding the catalog. Though I will list the types of metal that you can buy from the online Blade Store. ATS-34 Stainless440C Stainless154-CM StainlessCPM S30V StainlessCPM S35VN StainlessCPM 154 StainlessCPM 3V12C27 Strainless410 Stainless416 Stainless8670M (L-6 Alternative)A203E Alloy5210015N20201 Nickel6AL/4V TitaniumHR 1075/1080HR 1095CRA 1095HR 5160O-1 Tool SteelD-2 Tool SteelRandom Pattern DamascusTwist Pattern DamascusLadder Pattern DamascusSnakeye Pattern Damascus How easy is their website to use? The website is not difficult to use, but it’s not really an online store. It is online-simplicity at its best and honestly reminds me of HTML websites of yesteryear. Except for the Blade Steel Online Store, the website serves as an online repository of PDF files. For all of the website’s quirkiness, it works and the blade-steel prices are competitive. Note: Online Shopping is via PayPal & for U.S. Customers only! The shopping cart is provided by Paypal, so you will need to have a Paypal account to purchase steel. All other orders seem to be done via a Mail/Fax basis. For orders outside of the U.S. and for pricing on all other items, call, fax, or email Admiral Steel. #4 Speedy Metals Online Industrial Metal Supply Speedy Metals is another Metal-Superstore with physical locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. Per their About Us page, they stock more than 5000 items! And they provide custom cuts to any length! TIP: Website sales are through Wisconsin locations only (shipped or picked up) What they Stock Speedy Metals stocks the following: AluminumBrassBronzeCast IronCopperPlasticStainless SteelSteelTool Steel Note: Max Length for UPS shipping is 90” - call for lengths up to 20’ How easy is their website to use? Speedy Metals is easy and intuitive to navigate and find what you’re looking for. The website does a great job of answering questions before you have them. For example, after navigating to ½” Square A-36, it immediately notifies you that you can only order lengths up to 90”. The more, I use this website, the easier it gets. It’s easy to narrow my search and I really like the related products snippet at the bottom of each product page. #5 New Jersey Steel Baron New Jersey Steel Baron was founded by Aldo Bruno in 2010. Its mission, to supply quality steel alloys for knife making and bladesmithing communities. They are dedicated to helping hobbyists, Master Smiths, and CNC Machinists. What they Stock NJ Steel Baron sells items under the following categories: Handle MaterialLaminate SteelSquares & RoundsCPM SteelsHigh Carbon SteelStainless SteelTool Steel How easy is their website to use? The website is not difficult to use, though its site-speed is quite slow for today’s standards. Since they only specialize in bladesmith related items, finding what you want is not difficult. #6 Online Metals Online Metals specializes in cut-to-size, small to medium quantity orders. The company was born in a garage in 1998 in Seattle Washington and has grown to six facilities across the U.S. What they Stock Online Metals website specialized in the following categories: AluminumStainless SteelBrassCopperSteelTool Steel How easy is their website to use? OnlineMetals.com is easy to navigate and use, though I did have a hard time finding a few items the first time. As I worked with the website, I found the START HERE search panel the easiest and most helpful. For example, searching for drill rod out of S7 in ⅝” diameter. (see screenshot) #7 Blacksmithing Depot The Blacksmithing Depot is a family-owned and operated business out of Candler North Carolina. The website is blacksmith-focused and is backed up by the knowledge and experience of a multi-generation blacksmith family. What they Stock Blacksmith Depot sells Tools, Bolts & Fasteners, and Supplies. They sell the following alloys online: 109510751084516015N201018 CRS74140 How easy is their website is to use The website is simple to navigate, but when searching for steel, it is a bit counter-intuitive. It doesn’t employ the same filtering options as Speedy Metals and Metals Depot, so when you select on a category all of the available metal shows up on the screen. Not a game-changer, especially considering how competitive their pricing is. Cost Comparison Table Not every online store is going to stock all metals, and that’s not a bad thing. The table below compares one 20’ length of A-36 mild steel, 1095 Barstock, and two smaller lengths of Tool Steel. There’s nothing special about the steel I chose, though it is steel that I am interested in buying. ;) The mild steel is 20 feet of ½’ A-36 Square stock. I purposefully chose to compare 20’ lengths of steel because that is usually the length with the best price point for mild steel, a common length for bulk purchases. I included 1095 Barstock because of its popularity when bladesmithing. The size compared is 1-½” x 3/16” x 12”. The first tool-steel is ⅝” O1 Round stock @ 3 feet. O1 is an oil hardening steel that blacksmiths often use to make tools and dies. I threw it in there because it’s commonly used to make punches. Lastly, is S7 Round Stock also @ 3 feet in length. It’s not the easiest of metals to work with, but it’s air-hardening and very durable. If the steel is not available from the website, the table will say “NF for Not Found.” If the metal is available but in a different length, the priced length will be shown in parentheses just right of the price. While this table is hardly an exhaustive comparison, it should give you some idea of what is offered and for how much. Website A-36 Sq 1095 Bar O1 Rd S7 Rd Metals Depot$17.00NF$41.94NFMcMaster-CarrNFNF$16.95$59.97Admiral Steel LLCNF$20.11 (72”) NF*NF*Speedy Metals Online Industrial Metal Supply$14.58 (72”) NF$21.12$31.27NJ Steel BaronNF$8.91NF*NFOnline Metals$32.33 ($10.28 (72”))NFNF*$64.51 Blacksmithing DepotNF$12.00 (1.25 W)NF$30.00 (3@12”)AmazonNF$14.95$19.76$63.96 eBayNF$18.00$41.50$49.98 (2@18”) *Square Stock Available Shipping As it turns out, only Metals Depot sold 20’ lengths online and calculated the freight. Though I didn’t calculate shipping with every site, the cost to send a 20’ length to my shop was between $105-$140 based on quantity. There seemed to be a consensus from the other sites that the maximum length shipped was limited by UPS to 96”. Longer lengths could be purchased, but you would have to call or email the company. Verdict A-36 Sq ½” x 20’ If you don’t have a truck or a trailer to buy long-stock locally, Metals Depot will deliver! They calculate the freight to your address at checkout and the fee was reasonable. 1095 Barstock 1-½” x 3/16” x 12” At $5.03, Admiral Steel LLC had the best price for 1095 steel though you have to purchase it in a 72” length. The next closest competitor was New Jersey Steel Baron at $8.91. O1 Rd ⅝” x 3’ McMaster-Carr had the best price for O1 round stock at $16.95, followed Speedy Metals at $21.12. Honorable mention goes to Amazon at $14.95. The price seems too good to be true and there are no reviews on the listing. S7 Rd ⅝” x 3’ Blacksmiths Depot with a price of $10.00 at 12”. You would have to buy three to get to the 3’ mark, but if you’re making hot punches, it is to your advantage to have it already cut. Note: If you buy 6 the price for ⅝” S7 is $9.00 Ea. Speedy Metals came in with a slightly higher price of $31.27. Conclusion If there is anything to be learned about buying metal online, it is that there are many options. Some websites specialize in blacksmithing like Admiral Steel, NJ Steel Baron, and the Blacksmiths Depot. The other side of the coin is the metal supply superstores like Metals Depot and Speedy Metals. If you want to buy long stock in mild steel online, and have it delivered to your home, Metals Depot seems a clear choice. For those seeking tool steel, Speedy Metals has a great selection and great prices. Personally, I was surprised to learn more about Admiral Steel and Blacksmiths Depot. They have a unique focus on Blacksmiths and a good selection for those wanting to make blades.