hacksaw blade knife

[Scaru]

for sometime ive been trying to sharpen up a hacksaw blade because i realized that it is made of high carbon steel and should hold and edge nicely but the problem is i can not manage to sharpen it up ive tried useing a sharpening stone and using sandpaper but it seems like all that really did wastake off the paint any suggestions(has to be relatively cheap way to do as in getting a grinder is out of the option)

[kyratshooter]

1. Don't waste you time on a hacksaw blade, go straight to a saws-all blade. the hacksaw blade is too flexable and is nearly impossible to keep from burning up in the shaping process.

2. Go to a pawn shop or wallmart or Harbor Freight and buy an electric drill. You can usually get one for less than $20. Wall mart or any hardware store will have grinding stones mounted on 1/4" shafts. They are small and sometimes come in a package of assorted shapes.

If you already have files and sandpaper you will only need a clamp or some vise grips for holding the blade to a surface as you shape it.

Go easy and do not overheat the blade, you will burn the carbon out if it.


http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae193/lstancliff_photos/knifebuild007.jpg

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae193/lstancliff_photos/009-1.jpg

One nice thing about a saws-all blade is that you will have a true and usable saw edge on the back of the blade.

[crashdive123]

Scaru - if you do not have power tools, use a file.

[Scaru]

how do u do a nice wooden handle like that

[kyratshooter]

Find a piece of wood and saw a slice into it with the saws-all blade itself. A wooden broomstick will work. The piece shown is a scrap of maple from a cabinet shop.

Use the hole you see at the end of the blade as one rivet hole. Use the edge of the grinding stone to make a hole further up the blade for the second rivet. Use copper wire or a finish nail for the rivet. You really do not even need the rivets if you use JB Weld.

Coat the blade and slot with JB Weld and clamp it all together, leave it overnight and file everything smooth the next day.

The saws-all blade will usually work with files. Hacksaw blades are too hard to work without some kind of power and they are so thin they burn up if you are not careful.

They are not pretty but they work.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae193/lstancliff_photos/001-4.jpg

The only knives I make out of hacksaw blades are 2" long and only sharpened for about 3/4". I wrap the handles with dental floss and put them in waterproof match safes in my e-kits. They are just an extra cutter in case things get bad.

[Scaru]

kk thanks so much while you may say they arent pretty it look really good to me

[Scaru]

im thinking i just might get a set of files and if i did that how could i make a hole for the second rivet or should i just use jb weld. wait would jb weld stick work or not?

[Winter]

Sawzall blades work well and they don't have to be ugly.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/w6f7/S4021153.jpg

[Camp10]

Nice knife winter!

[Rick]

Holy cow. That's beautiful.

[Scaru]

nice knife! but would jb weld stick work or do i need the tubes of it?

[Ole WV Coot]

nice knife! but would jb weld stick work or do i need the tubes of it?

Tubes and it will as I've said before mend anything except a broken heart or the crack of dawn, me I would use epoxy and use one pin, looks just as good.

[Winter]

Devcon 2 ton epoxy is the standard.

[kyratshooter]

I have used Devcon and JB Weld. I have seen Devcon fail, though it is rare. JB Weld has so many other uses I keep it around as all purpose heavy duty stick'um.

Do not try to use the 5 minute JB Kwick Weld, Us the standard. When JB says 5 minutes that is what they mean. You will not have time to smear the glue, position the blade in the slot and move it around so the rivit will enter. Use the standard and give it all night to set up.

With JB you will not need any rivets at all if you do not want to use them. I have several knives I that are assembled with only the JB and they have seen a lot of camp use. I have never had one turn lose.

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae193/lstancliff_photos/011.jpg

Now take into consideration that I am old school and consider batoning a near criminal offense. I consider hard use butchering, skinning and general craft use.

My sawsall blades tend to be ugly cause I use them to show how to make a knife in 15-20 minutes. Those shots are part of a slide show for a class I gave. You can turn them into art works like Winter did.

[Camp10]

Devcon 2 ton epoxy is the standard.

+1 on the Devcon. Clean all the surfaces good with alcohol before you glue it and it will hold like iron.

[canid]

i wanted to add a quick point of clarification: at grinding/tooling temperatures there is no significant risk of decarburization [loosing carbon] at all.

the reason heat must be minded is that above about 300f you will begin to cause tempering, which will soften steel as the structure begins to form more pearlite and bainite structures.