Sawmill saw

[dirtyphil]

I have 6 foot long two man saw blade that Id like to cut and make a couple knives out of. If I use my bandsaw to cut out my blanks I shouldn’t have to heat treat, correct? As long as I keep it cool?

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Saw blades and knife blades (and bandsaw blades!) are heat treated differently.
If you can easily cut it with your bandsaw, it's too soft for a good knife blade.
Sell the saw to someone and buy known steel.

 

[Ken H>]

If you can easily cut it with your bandsaw, it's too soft for a good knife blade.

Nothing else to say - Bill summed it up nicely.

 

[Jesse Latham]

What Bill said. Steel is the cheapest part of a knife.

 

[Natlek]

I have 6 foot long two man saw blade that Id like to cut and make a couple knives out of. If I use my bandsaw to cut out my blanks I shouldn’t have to heat treat, correct? As long as I keep it cool?

I think that you will need to HT again your blanks .Saws are tempered in higher temp then you want for knife ........ for toughness , easy of sharpening ...etc . But it is good carbon steel , most of the time

 

[Natlek]

Wait ,I was thinking that you ask about circular saw ... title was mislead me .....sorry This ones are harder then circular one , maybe you should try without HT one knife .

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

It is simplest to cut the blade blanks out a bit oversized with a plasma cutter or cutting torch and grind the blanks to a basic profile shape. Anneal the blanks, then make the bevels and drill all holes. Harden after the bevels are shaped, then finish the knife.

 

[dirtyphil]

I have the same saw pictured below...

Wait ,I was thinking that you ask about circular saw ... title was mislead me .....sorry This ones are harder then circular one , maybe you should try without HT one knife .

 

[Natlek]

I have the same saw pictured below...

Cut small piece ,secure it in vice and break with hammer .If it break without to much bend probably it is hard enough for knife .You can try to drill hole with HSS drill bit , if you can t drill hole it is good for knife Any way if it is not hard enough and if you have grinder you don t need to anneal it .Take some pieces and HT them on different temp..... Then cut , shape grind bevel and then HT knife ........that saw steel as it is are in perfect condition for HT .... 800 celsius a often just right temp .for this , at least for my saws....

 

[Don Hanson III]

Very good blade steel. Heat treat it for it's intended use. Too soft as is.

 

[kn4wd]

cross cuts make good blades as said "when heat treated properly", i got a couple of hunters made from one.