Determining steel type

[gunfixrjoe]

Hello. I recently acquired a very old saw blade. Its an early to mid 1900s large circular blade. I an interested in possibly making some knives out of it, but I don't know its composition in order to properly heat treat it, or if it would even be worth making anything out of it in the firstplace. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

The best answer is to cut a 2"X2" piece out, grind it clean, and take it to Fastenall to be tested. There are other testers, too.

You will undoubtedly get some advice from folks to do a spark test, but the results won't tell you what kind of steel it is. If you know how to do a spark test you can get a rough guess of the carbon content at best. Even then, it takes some practice with known steels to learn how to read the sparks.

 

[gunfixrjoe]

The best answer is to cut a 2"X2" piece out, grind it clean, and take it to Fastenall to be tested. There are other testers, too.

You will undoubtedly get some advice to do a spark test, but the results won't tell you what kind of steel it is. If you know how to do a spark test you can get a rough guess of the carbon content at best. Even then, it takes some practice with known steels to learn how to read the sparks.

Thank you very much. I believe there is a Fastenal near me!