knives from lawn-mower blades...

D

DANGELO

Joined
Oct 20, 1999
Messages
422
After recently cleaning up the old mower to prepare it for spring time, I realized it was time for a new blade. The blade I opted for was a 20" x 3" rectangular blade with no swirls/dimples as are found in others. Upon close examination, I came to a realization!
In the 5 years the old blade was on my mower, I had to sharpen it only five times. It NEVER rusted-even after weekly hose downs. And it only chipped twice, and only after I hit the same chunk of brick on two different occassions.

I started to think...could this be a good utility grade knife steel? Has it been done yet? I sharpened the old blade down to a fine edge, and ir rolled within an hour of moderate to severe utility testing. BUT!!!With a moderate edge, almost hatchet like, the edge held up indefinately!

Do I have someting here, or have you all seen/done this before? I plan to cut an 8" by 1" chunk out of the old blade, screw thru a few holes for handle/hardware, and see what I can get.

Can anyone rec'mnd something to cut this stuff with??? Tore apart my HACK-SAW!!!

Take Care
Stay Sharp
Steve in NYC
 

Yep, you got some good knife stuff there. If I remember correctly it is 5160(aka spring steel) and alot of makers have made plenty of good working and functional knives out of the mower blades.

------------------
KSwinamer

Atheism....A non-prophet organization
 
Ouch!!!!!!!! I wish I had known this before I chunked em all!!!!

------------------


Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!
 
Wayne Goddard did one recently out of a mower blade which he wrote up in one of the mags. Something about a $50 knife. I'm working on my first knife which I'm making from a lawn edger blade (cost: $3.50). This is based on an article I read in a magazine called Backwoodsman or something of that nature. I have no idea what the steel is. A friend of mine who is a metallurgist thinks I'm nuts 'cause I can purchase good steel relatively cheap and then I will KNOW what it is, which is important for heat treating. But...I'm having fun. I'm using a file to make my blade. My Grizzly has not arrived yet. I'm in the polishing stage right now.

I've been usind crocus cloth and Flitz polish. Still not as nice as I would like. When the grizzly arrives, I'll be able to buff the blade--whatever it is.
smile.gif




------------------
Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
You might also want to read these threads from the shop talk archive. They make the point that not all lawn mower blades are made from high carbon steel. There are also a couple of tips about how to tell what the steel is. You might also want to search heat-treatment threads in the this forum and the shop talk archive.

problem drilling 5160: http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum12/HTML/000195.html

Using steel found around the house: http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum12/HTML/000281.html

Need steel-But Just a Little: http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum12/HTML/000546.html

Spring steel? http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum12/HTML/001140.html

Hope this helps

Paracelsus

[This message has been edited by Paracelsus (edited 03-29-2000).]
 
If you don't plan on heat treating it, you probably will only want to use it for a heavy use/abuse knife. Or a design mainly for chopping. The Rc is going to be relatively low because of what it was heat treated for to begin with. It needed to withstand abuse and not break or chip easily, not take a very good edge or hold it. A dull blade cuts really well when its being spun by a 5 hp engine. Things are a little different when your the one holding the blade.

------------------
Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top