Modifing a finished blade (un- harden)

C

Charlie P

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Jun 14, 2018
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So - got this niffty big blade and I want to modify it just a bit. Only on the handle end btw. I want to trim some off and drill a few new holes but it's REALLY HARD. Band-saw blade eating hard. :eek:
Am I correct in assuming (we know where that leads) that if I place the handle end in the forge, heat it to non-magnetic and do a slow cool in a bucket of vermiculite (poor man's anneal) I should "un-harden" it ? :p Thanks for your patience.
 
Charlie P said:
So - got this niffty big blade and I want to modify it just a bit. Only on the handle end btw. I want to trim some off and drill a few new holes but it's REALLY HARD. Band-saw blade eating hard. :eek:
Am I correct in assuming (we know where that leads) that if I place the handle end in the forge, heat it to non-magnetic and do a slow cool in a bucket of vermiculite (poor man's anneal) I should "un-harden" it ? :p Thanks for your patience.
Click to expand...
Carbide Drill bits and grind off what you don’t want! Easy Peasey!
 
Yeah, as Rhino says - Carbide drills and grind. Note that you'll have to grind it, rather than saw it.

While your idea of annealing the 'handle' seems logical, the problem is the heat will travel into the blade area while it's 'slowly cooling'. That's gonna anneal the whole blade or at a minimum over temper (soften) the edge. That's if it's a carbon blade. If it's stainless that won't anneal it anyway, but will still soften the edge too much.
 
If you do want to heat it I suggest putting the blade in water in a tin can and heat the end of the tang with a torch.
 
A big, smooth-jawed vise will keep the heat off of the blade-if it's carbon steel.
Carbide and grind-I agree.
 
Have a care with grinding as well as far as heating up the blade portion. Depending on what you are doing it wouldn't be impossible to mess with the blade temper.
 
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