Lawnmower blade steel??

B

bzzhewt

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May 8, 2005
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I amgoing to TRY to make my first knife out of a lawnmower blade, as per Wayne Goddard's $50 dollar knife shop. I got a pretty sweet design all ready, but I don't want to waste my time on bad steel. I was wondering what kind of steel a lawnmower blade might be, and if it's suitable for knife making. In other words, are all mower blades most likely the same steel, or could there be differences??
Thanx.
 
the one on my mower is pretty mild steel, i assume this is to soak up impacts with rocks/pebbles/etc without shattering the blade. not sure how much of this you could make up with heat-treating.

you would have to be very specific with *what* lawnmower blade you are using. you can buy blades for a couple of bucks, and there are blades for over forty. i am sure there is an extremely wide range of steels between the hundreds of types/brands of blades that are available on the market. perhaps someone could give you some info on what steel it is made of if you can narrow it down to a specific manufacturer/line.

cheers,
-gabriel
 
There haven't been any threads in the shop talk forum for over 45 days but I'll post this much info for you.

There is a Rental Service Center near me that gives me the used blades they have from sidewalk edgers when they are done with them. But you can purchase them for just a few dollars at any Lowes store.

Sidewalk edger blades come in all sizes and thicknesses. I've found that the knives I've made from this steel are tough as nails and seem to take a pretty good edge. They don't hang on to it quite as well as I'd like but they are easy enough to sharpen to kind of make up for that. I was told the steel was 5160 in these blades. If someone was so inclined they could even re heat treat these to make them just a bit harder and the edge keeping would probably increase accordingly but they are so tough as is that I've always left them alone.

The guys I've given these knives to love them and tell me they work great. For what that is worth.

I've made several fixed blades over the years using them and folders too. They are fun to make and lots easier using these than it would be a lawn mower blade. The metal is harder also in the sidewalk edger blade so they make a better knife than a mower blade does.

Over at my home page there is a thread I started on the sidewalk edger blade. http://www.knifeforums.com/ubbthrea...pe=&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post648117

I just checked it and the pics are still up. It is a older thread but in it are just some of the knives I've made using these to recycle into a blade. Feel free to join in over there or ask questions we are all into the kind of stuff you are asking about.

Steve AKA STR
 
STR said:
There haven't been any threads in the shop talk forum for over 45 days but I'll post this much info for you.

Lots of new treads everyday here :confused: You should check in more often :)

Some LM blades will harden and some will not, usually the better, more expesive blades are good steel for knives. Heat up one corner and quench it and check for hardness.

Don Hanson lll
Click to expand...
 
Really. Well, I have been looking. I just checked before posting that and the system gave me that info. I wonder what is going on there. When I go there it says there haven't been any posts in the last 14 days. I just tried it again.

EDIT: Oh boy
Man I need my eyes checked. Here I've been thinking all along that this place was just dead. I've been going to the 'archived' forum. DAAAA. Guess it helps if I put my damn glasses on! My bad guys. Maybe now you'll see more of this old fart around here. Well, I feel dumb.
STR
 
Thanks. I am sure you were like what? I appreciate the response though. I really thought there just wasn't much activity here. But I've only been on a computer for about as long as I've been a member here so I guess technically I'm still green in a lot of ways there. That and I never wear my specs when I should be.

I'll be posting here more often now. I will probably fit in here more so than anywhere else I've been hanging.
 
I routinely see whole mowers, engine, carriage, wheels, the whole thing for like $119. If the blade were made of any high-grade steel, it would be $35-50 of material alone.

My guess is that maybe the better brands, John Deere, etc., have specific alloy steels. But the cheapie mowers probably just have pot steel for the blade.

In my experience, Lawn mower blades do not seem hardened and they're not very sharp. They rely on the fact that they're being swung around at several hundred RPM by a multi-horsepower engine and that what they're cutting, grass, isn't very tough.

You can get a piece of name-alloy steel for a blade for like $25. Why waste your time and energy on bad steel? If your first knife only comes out half-way good, at least it will be good steel so it won't be all bad.
 
I agree with Gollnick on the mower blades. But as a hobbyist there is little reason to spend money on bar stock and heat treatment if you just want to make a knife. The sidewalk edger blades are a pretty good alternative way to go. They aren't bar stock but they make a tough knife, with edge holding at least on par with the bottom of the barrel stainless 420HC and 440A steels and perhaps even better. I can't say I've done any serious testing of them other than making a dozen or so in my lifetime and hearing what those that have them in their possession tell me about them.

I also can't say much about the consistancy of the steel used in the sidewalk edger blades or for sure that all are the same. I just had the RSC manager where I get them free call the manufacturer of their industrial rental units to find out and it came back to me that they were 5160 steel. Based on my file set to determine a rough guess of Rc hardness these blades seem to run between a 54 and 58 Rc which is plenty hard enough for a blade IMO.

So, if you want to go cheap just to make a knife that should work pretty well for you I'd go that route. Depending on what handle I put on one I can make a fixed blade knife for under $7.00 using one of these old blades to recycle into a useable knife. I have relatives and neighbors using these things for filleting fish, skinning and field dressing game and carrying them in their tool boxes so I know they work. Try it you'll like it.
 
I wish i could specify the blade, guys, but it is old and Got pulled of a mower we've had forever.
I do plan on annealing it before i work it, hardening it after, then tempering it. But i might go the route of a different stick material so as not to waste the effort on a bad blade. I would like to end up with the most decent knife i can get as far as carbon steel goes, so will wait till i can get some less mysterious steel!
Thanx
 
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