I have a blade from an Ontario Machete, that is rusty and no handle..

C

Cronx210

Joined
Apr 23, 2009
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I want to use it for something just not sure yet, i was thinking of making a little neck knife by cutting off a piece of it with a dremel tool. But i have a question, Would that change the tempering of the steel? how can i take a piece off without changing the tempering? keep dipping the blade in a bucket of water every inch i cut?

I have a bunch of machetes and the blade is just sitting in the shed i wanna do something with it besides throw it away. So i wanna get creative :D
 
Read your post. One of the most interesting I've seen. It's an old machete sitting out in the shed and your choice is throwing it away or doing "something" with it and your concern is the temper in the steel? Cool.
Heat is the factor in tempering so quenching the steel as it heats during cutting should solve that.
I'd make a hat out of it and wear it to the next family reunion if it was me.
Tell them the story and tell them "they're next" just for fun. I love scaring Family!
 
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Use cut-off wheels with the Dremel tool and keep it moving. Don't let it sit in one spot too long. Just work your way through by going back and forth over the line you're cutting along. Don't try to start at one end and cut through it.

Check the temp with your hand. If it gets too hot to touch then stop.

Either way, you have some good stuff to learn on. What you learn by cutting and shaping those blades will be worth more than any knife you harvest from it.

Wear safety glasses! They don't call cut-off wheels "the wheel of death" for nothing.
 
use a marker to mark the blade for cutting. if you're worried about the heat of a cutoff wheel, get a disposable aluminum roasting pan (3-4 inches deep), fill it with water and freeze it. use that block of ice as a base to cut the blade on.

in the grand scheme of things it's much easier to just buy a neck knife instead of cutting one out of an old machete blade (but i understand the fun of doing it). also, machete blades are usually heat treaded on the softer side so that they are tougher (just something to consider). good luck.
 
You can lay the blade on a couple layers of wet rag/towel as you cut with your dremel and go slow. This has worked for me.--KV
 
Cronx - Do you have a compressor and any compressor tools? They are handy and not that expensive at Harbor Freight. Cut off wheel gets more use than most think. Dremel (as mentioned) will work also but those little wheels.... just keep them spinning free (no binding), try not to heat them up.
 
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