Scavanging -- found a huge masanry blade. Any good?

blgoode

blgoode

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Oct 3, 2003
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Actually 3 of theme. They have some sort of tips on them but would the steel of the actual blade be 5160? I also found 2 good size pieces of marble. About 6" thick x 12 x 14. What can this be used for besides a door weight?

Also I found a pretty good piece of heavy steel near rail road steel. How can I test this for use as an anvil? Its about 1" thich x 3.5" x 16".

Hope some of this is of good use.........besides paper weights.... :grumpy:
 
Try hardening a small piece of the masonary blade. From some internet searching I did on lapidary blades last year, they tend to be either low C, 1050, or L6. A little testing should tell you. On the lapidary blades, the cutting inserts along the edge are often a Cobalt alloy like Stellite.
 
If the marble has a good flat surface, lots of people here use them for real hard, flat sanding surface. Good for cleaning up full height flat grinds and getting them just right
 
I like having a good flat surface to work with. Now I need a surface califer.

As far as the steel blade. It may be better to just get JD load shifting steel....

I did a spark test on the rail road stuff....no good. Too soft. It looks like a cast iron but I will test the sparks again. No anvil yet!!!
 
Actually I've had some pretty good results from some masonary blades in the 36 to 42 inch dia range. Every once in a while I get a "softy" that won't do squat but for the most part they've hardened up just fine (I test a chunk out of each one I cut up). Smaller blades are usually soft Lo-carb stuff but make good spacer material and table top trays for your forge area.
I've even had a few that etched out with a very fine grain laminated steel pattern (more like wood grain than anything esle). I plan to mix some of this with some 1080 to make (I hope) some interesting patternwelded steel when I get my vertical welding forge completed.

Best bet is to cut it up and test a few pieces. A portaband with a bimetal blade will slice it up nicely, just don't start cutting on the diamond part. Start in the gusset between the cutters.
Admittedly some have better chacteristics than others and telling them apart is almost impossible because the mfgr label and info is almost always destroyed in use. You must test each blade.

I HT most of it like 15N2 and get about the same results. Makes excellent kitchen cultery. Very tough and still sharpens easily. I have had a few blades that did not get hard immediately on quench but if left alone after the quench
for a couple of four hours got hard as a rock. L6? Made good blades just had to be patient. Did temper them later once I found them "hard" and they made into very serviceable kitchen knives.

Plain O Bill - I'm not trying to be argumentative with you, this has just been my experience with the masonary blades. I definitely do not believe all the blades are hardenable steel but I also know some are.

Respectfully,
Carl Rechsteiner
 
The blade steel is not at it's highest hardness due to the nature of it's designed use. You'll have to cut a piece off, take it to critical, and quench to harden before a spark test will tell much. At this point you can also apply the file test and break test. File should skate without cutting in and the end grain on the break should be a very fine grain structure.
Carl Rx
 
humm.....looks like I need to go back and snag one of those blades!
 
If you cut them up right , you can use the insert (diamond part) as the edge for slicer type kitchen knives. As I mentioned above, the matrix metal is often Stellite or a similar Cobalt alloy. With the embedded diamonds, it makes for a somewhat rough edge, but it will stick around very well between the Co carbides and the diamonds.
 
Shego,
I tried to incorporate the diamond matrix cutter into a blade once but the stuff sloughed off long before the metal reaches forging temp. All of the blades I've used had the matrix sweated on with a hard braze and are not "inserts".
I have found with wood cutting blades, those with inserts, are usually not hardenable steel. I have not run across any masonary blades with inserts and would probably not try/test them for the same reason.
If you are doing stock removal just remember, the diamond matrix will eat up rock. Do you grind rocks on your belt grinder? It'll do the same to your belts.
 
thanks guys, I'll keep looking for steel :)
 
Crex
I just cut the lapidary blades to a blade shape with the edge as a curve and didn't heat them. The cobalt alloys don't need heat treating, as the carbide matrix (and in this case, the embedded diamonds) provides the wear resistance.

The rim is a SOB to grind to an edge. The alloy is kind of gummy and the carbides and diamonds tear up belts fast.

On these lapidary blades the edge is an insert.
 
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