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Thread: Knife from circular saw blade.

  1. #21

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    What kind of circular saw blade did you use? How did you tell if the steel was good enough? My recent internet research found gobs of knifemakers saying don't use circular saw blades because the steel isn't very good or at least uncertain.

    Making a knife has been one of those things on my unwritten list of things to do. I have casually read a bit here and there, and I collected a few older, non-carbide tipped saw blades, because I read that they are more likely to be made of better steel since the steel has to be "sharpenable". I started digging deeper for details and not just general info and I was really persuaded to go ahead and buy some steel so I can know what I have. It had never occurred to me that a circular saw blade might be bi-metal.

    Anyway, I decided to bite the bullet and make a couple of simple knives as Christmas presents. I may be biting off more than I can chew, but hey, that's part of the adventure. I'm not writing the circular saw blade off completely, but I'm not going to experiment right now.

    BTW, this wasn't meant to be an "I don't know what I 'm talking about, but YOU ARE WRONG" kind of post. Just explaining where I'm coming from.
    "The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play." Capt. James T. Kirk


  2. #22
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Got a lot of dull circular blades....made another one yesterday...sawing in to a couple of deck screws while building my gate.
    Silly part is.....If some one said..." I'll bet you a $100 bucks to hit a blind screw from the back side"...in 100 tries.....It wouldn't happen.

    I just wouldn't use them...I want to be sure that I have a reasonable chance or have a decent blade for all the effort.
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  3. #23
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    I used a 10" carbide tipped blade from my radial arm saw. I couldn't tell you what brand it was. A metal cutting jigsaw blade wouldn't touch it. I had to cut it out with a 4" grinder. I shaped it and put a rough edge on it before heat treating. I will anneal the tang on the next one because I couldn't drill the holes for the handle pegs without breaking several bits.

    I used a propane burner to heat the blade to a consistent reddish orange and then quenched it in motor oil. I polished up and took an edge after a little bit.

    I'm sure there are different grades of steel in different blades, I may have just gotten lucky on the first try.

    I will tell you though that when you are drawing out you blank, stay away from the hole. There is a diamond cutout there that often won't show up until the grinder hits it. I started on a filet knife and found this out the hard way.

    Good luck.

    Alan

  4. #24
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    When working with a piece of unknown steel you can try heat treating a small piece before spending the time of making a knife. After your heat treat, run a file across the edge - put a little force into it. If the file bites and removes metal noticeably, it is pretty soft. If it skates across the edge it is fairly hard.
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  5. #25

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    Thanks for the help, Alan & crash.
    "The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play." Capt. James T. Kirk

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