How do you cut sawteeth on a blade?

[Terry_Dodson]

I could not find the search feature so i figured i would ask. I want to cut some sawtheeth on the back of a knife to use when making notches for traps in limbs. I remember seeing a WSK style knife a long time ago that had really good sawteeth on the top and would like to try and make some like that. How do i go about cutting the teeth? I am thinking about drawing lines every .25 inches on the spot i want the sawteeth and then using a dremel with a thin metal cutting disk and making XXXX cuts between them. Will that work?

 

[Reynaldo Garza]

You can try with the dremel like I used to but, I found better to use a 6 or 8" thin metal cutting wheel mounted on a grinder motor. That way you have use of both hands and also, dip the cuts in water to cool off. You can also make the cuts at an angle facing the guard. Always wear a face shield, protection for our eyes is a must. After you finish cutting the teeth, sharpen them with a belt sander or a file. Rey

 

[JasonSCarter]

I use a Nicholson 3/16 - 1/4" triangle file. I lay out lines every 1/4" and run the file till it's 1/8" - 3/16" deep, drawfiling from the closest right side to the next left side. All the way up.Next reverse it 1/8"-3/16" deep from the closest left side to the next right side. this will look like a bunch of x's. but it is 2 half rows of teeth and one cleaner row in the middle. I clean them up with a diamond needle file. It's very similar to the saw in SAK's

Jason

 

[Terry_Dodson]

Thanks guys. I think the triangle file may be the way i am going to go.

 

[69_knives]

I would suggest practicing on a piece of scrap or something you can grind down when done first before filing the unknown into a finished knife.

 

[Terry_Dodson]

good advice. I may also do it in an old machette just to do more practice before the final blade.

 

[gshamr]

Can you do it to an air -hardening steel before heat treatment? Or does it have to be post-quench?

 

[Leu Custom]

Can you do it to an air -hardening steel before heat treatment? Or does it have to be post-quench?

To use a file, you would have to do it before heat treatment as the file won't bite into the steel after the blade is hard. Using a dremel cut off wheel works after heat treatment or something harder than the steel. I find it easier to do pre-heat treatment and using a triangle file works great as you can go slow instead of a dremel which is harder to control than a slow hand file !