Saw knife

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blade dude

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I know construction workers so I can get worn out sawzall blades made by dewalt and other brands. Will these make halfway decent light use knives? I have grinders and sanding equipment, but nothing to reheat treat it so I'll have to not hear it too much I know. Anyone know the steal and hardness of the saw blades?


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I remember a thread similar to this about a year ago where a guy wanted to do the exact same thing. The short answer is no, it probably isn't the best option and you would be taking a shot in the dark as far as the heat treat goes. I would say just get yourself some 1084 from NJ Steel Baron. It's cheap, simple, and super easy to heat treat. Absolutely no guesswork involved either. I can understand why it may seem like a good idea though.

I think that thread I mentioned eventually escalated into a major battle between those who knew what they were talking about and the OP's pure stubbornness (to put it lightly). The guy wanted to forge weld 3 of them together and make a billet of Damascus with them :p

***ETA; Here is that thread I mentioned. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ating-sawzall-blades?highlight=sawzall+blades
 
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If you want to have cheap fun playing around with Sawzall blades, Do it !
I dont know the steel type and it probably varies between manufacturers and varies on the particular type sawblade.

Anyway, Typical bi-metal Sawzall blades are going to be tempered down to a springy toughness.
It will work as a knife fairly well as is if you grind them cold.
If you want to get them harder, its seat of pants & crapshoot if it turns out well.
 
I'll make one Thursday and test it it'll be a low angle like 8 per side or less and 10 micro bevel


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xXBackyardCrafterXx said:
I remember a thread similar to this about a year ago where a guy wanted to do the exact same thing. The short answer is no, it probably isn't the best option and you would be taking a shot in the dark as far as the heat treat goes. I would say just get yourself some 1084 from NJ Steel Baron. It's cheap, simple, and super easy to heat treat. Absolutely no guesswork involved either. I can understand why it may seem like a good idea though.

I think that thread I mentioned eventually escalated into a major battle between those who knew what they were talking about and the OP's pure stubbornness (to put it lightly). The guy wanted to forge weld 3 of them together and make a billet of Damascus with them :p

***ETA; Here is that thread I mentioned. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ating-sawzall-blades?highlight=sawzall+blades
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I think I remember that thread.... haha

As for the OP in THIS thread... I agree that if you want to make a much more effective knife, there are plenty of better options. That said, if you want to play around and just have some fun, sawzall blades can and have been used in the past. Just don't expect a miracle, or something that you won't have to sharpen fairly regularly. I've seen plenty of guys make things like marking knives and carving blades and what not with similar blades.
 
knife to a gunfight said:
I think I remember that thread.... haha

As for the OP in THIS thread... I agree that if you want to make a much more effective knife, there are plenty of better options. That said, if you want to play around and just have some fun, sawzall blades can and have been used in the past. Just don't expect a miracle, or something that you won't have to sharpen fairly regularly. I've seen plenty of guys make things like marking knives and carving blades and what not with similar blades.
Click to expand...

I recently ground a file into a knife so I'm in no need for a hard use knife and plan to make a larger one. What steel are the saw blades most easily compared to? 440a? Carving is good use I like frequent sharpening for carving.
 
blade dude said:
I recently ground a file into a knife so I'm in no need for a hard use knife and plan to make a larger one. What steel are the saw blades most easily compared to? 440a? Carving is good use I like frequent sharpening for carving.
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I'm not sure I'd compare it to 440A.... it's probably a little better than that. Bi-metal blades usually have a softer, flexible lower carbon steel of some kind on the back, and a harder tool steel on the teeth. Steel type will likely vary from brand to brand, but some kind of HSS (high speed steel) is likely used, maybe an M series steel or something (which while tough, can be a bear to heat treat properly).

Obviously sawzall blades are made to be tough, as they often are used to cut through hard woods, metal, nails, screws, etc... and while geometry plays a not insignificant role here as well, the fact is that they do need to start with a relatively tough steel too.
 
Sawzall blades would most likely be a bad blade material. They are made to be tough with hard teeth. Once the teeth are ground off, it isn't going to keep an edge.

Some folks have made knives from machine hack saw blades, which are HSS.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Sawzall blades would most likely be a bad blade material. They are made to be tough with hard teeth. Once the teeth are ground off, it isn't going to keep an edge.

Some folks have made knives from machine hack saw blades, which are HSS.
Click to expand...

Ok. I'll make a sawzall blade knife with my grinder anyway because the sawzall blade is trash anyway.
 
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