help and questions about making a knife with an old machete

[archeonut]

I found an old machete blade on the field, very used and without the grip. Is a Incolma machete, made on Colombia and more or less a classic of the rural workers on Argentina. Is good steel, a bit soft but very easy to sharpen and is great to make kitchen knifes.
I want to cut the blade and make one or maybe two knifes with the metal, but i don't know where to start or what to do, so i have a lot of cuestions:

Cutting with a power tool can remove the temper of the steel?
It can be done with a hand saw?
How can i put the handle? I thought to make it with wood and brass pins, similar to the original handles on these machetes, but i don't know very clearly how to do it.

Thanks a lot! Sorry for the broken english! Writing this took me 20 minutes easy!

[Tokwan]

Not much of a knife maker, but yes, you can cut using a handsaw if its not to thick. Or you can cut using a power saw but then heat treat the blade again. Make a full tang and use 2 pcs of wood. Pins would be great to hold the handle together.

[crashdive123]

Machetes are tempered (on purpose) fairly soft. With that in mind......

Cutting with power tools runs the risk of changing the temper. I currently use a portaband saw that runs slow and does not heat the metal to the point of changing the temper. Short of using one like that, a drill and hacksaw may be your best bet.

For attaching the handle material...

After you have the holes drilled in the metal, I like to clamp on side (using a pair of vice grips) and drill the hole in the wood - then repeat for the other side. Following that I pin the handles together (without the knife) using temporary pins. I like bamboo skewers for this, but anything that serves as a pin works. With the two pieces pinned together shape the front end (end toward blade) so that when you attach them they will be even.

To attach them I use a variety of adhesives, but currently am using a 2 part epoxy. Glue the slabs, glue the pins (rough up the pins a little so the glue has something to "grip"). After the glue has dried, shape the handles. Files and sand paper if doing by hand. If you use a small belt sander make sure you use new or "sharp" belts to avoid burning the wood.

[archeonut]

Thanks a lot! I will try that