Schrade Project

[trentu]

I want to shorten one of the Schrade Extreme survival knives and was wondering if you guys think it will mess with the temper? I want to shorten it from a 7-1/8" blade down to a 5" blade. What do you think?

 

[James_Terrio]

It won't hurt the temper unless you get the blade too hot. Dip in cool water often while grinding. Don't attempt to grind off the whole 2", I can almost promise you you'll end up getting frustrated with how long it's taking and wind up going too fast. Cut the bulk of it off with a hacksaw, then you'll just have to regrind the tip.

If you're not experienced with grinding, practice getting the tip shape you want on scrap first. Or ask a knifemaker here to do it for you.

 

[69_knives]

Make a cut or two with an angle grinder and cutoff disc. Start by cutting an inch off and see if/how the temper colors appear and use that as a guide as to how close you can take the grinder.

If you use a grinder, make sure the 'good' portion of the blade is clamped in a vise and the cut line is as close as possible to the jaws. If the cut line is too far away it could vibrate and make the disc bounce and cause you to mess up the blade.

In any event, go slow, take your time... you may need lots of it if you try cutting hardened steel with a hack saw.

 

[James_Terrio]

take your time... you may need lots of it if you try cutting hardened steel with a hack saw.

Shhhhhhh!! Making a newbie use a hacksaw is a time-honored tradition to weed out those who can't "hack" it

Honestly, carbon steels aren't TOO bad to cut this way, but I just looked up that Schrade and it's stainless, so it likely will take a while to cut. It's kind of hard to answer these kinds of questions not knowing the skillset or tools the poster has... we could just tell him to cut it to shape with a plasma cutter...

 

[trentu]

Thanks guys. I ended up using a dremel cutoff wheel and did it under my coolant pump for my mill. Guess I needed a confidence boost. First time I have ever modded a production knife.