So i found some 10" carbide teeth skil saw blades laying around, and my miter saw is 12". haha. so i guess i have some knife material. i was wondering if anyone had an idea of what type of steel they are made out of. and if you don't, what would be the best method to heat treating a mystery steel?
thanks,
JL
Those are not any good for knives at all. The only purpose of the round saw blade is to hold the carbide teeth! The body of the saw blade could be any combination of worthless materials.
is this problem specific to carbide teeth saws, or skil brands? because i've seen a bunch of knives made from old saw blades.
I think the problem is with carbide tipped blades. Since the carbide tips, not the actual steel blade, are doing the cutting, the steel can be, and is likely of, a lower quality.
Ryan said it very well.
And even on some saw blades that don't have carbide teeth, especially newer ones, only the final section away from the center that contains the teeth is hard. It's a two part affair, with the teeth section being welded to a worthless center core.
Just think, considering the $$ involved and the necessity of companies to save money, why would they make a saw blade with hardenable, martensitic steel throughout the entire body of the saw blade, which is expensive, when only the working portion needs to hold an edge?
Usually when you see knives made from saw blades it's either because the knife maker didn't know what he was doing, or, it was from an OLDER saw blade that was verifiable as being L6 or something close, which does make a heck of a knife when properly heat treated.
most carbide tipped blades are L-6 it does not hold an edge or harden evenly.
James, I am not one to argue, but L-6 is a fine knife blade steel. It is. In addition to that, most Carbide tipped saw blades are not good for making good knife blades, but it's not because it's L-6, but because it probably is not L-6. There is some confusion about saw blades. They are not all the same. L-6 was a common steel used for large circular sawmill blades and may still be used, but your common everyday circular saw blade from the Depot aint L-6 steel and aint good knife blade steel.
I only step in here at this point to offer clarification, not to be offensive.
L-6 is a fantastic blade steel.
Deep hardening and about the same nickel content of 15N20, is used regularly in Damascus for contrast with O1 because it has about the same Carbon content.
L6 will cut 'till the sun goes down.
Thanks for the response guys. Well I'm sure I'll find some other use for it. Looks like I'm back to the drawing board for good materials.
John,
Spring steel is a good blade material. I have used some "drops" off of new spring cut offs from a local spring manufacturer. I can forge them down to blade sized pieces. If you dont forge, ask around for buggy springs or something like that. Get the word out and you'll be suprised what shows up.
If you find an old antique sawmill blade, without carbide teeth, it should make a blade that is servicable.
thanks Lin, ill definitely be looking around. i think for now ill just order a nice blank, what would be the best steel, if i can choose from any type?
1080-1084 are often recommended for new knifemakers because the heat treat can be simple and yield a great blade. 5160 can also be a great first steel to work with.
Thank you, i will have to look into those kinds.