A question for you Knifemakers

[bmfer]

A friend told me that a good quality saw blade was made out of fair quality tool steel and would make a pretty good knife, is that true? I'm sure there are better materials, but I don't want to spend a bunch on my first try and screw it up. Thanks, Bret

[katie]

Bret-Check out the how-to section.  Many knife build-a-longs out of saw blades.

[pjsnell]

If you have a Grandfather like mine, you might have a few (or a box full) older blades around that you can get for free.  You'll get atleast two blanks out of a circular saw blade.  I like old band saw or hacksaw blades (1.5" wide) best.  
What ever you use, cut a small piece off, heat one end up to cherry red with a torch and dunk it in some oil (I use olive oil - cause that's what is in the cupboard, and it doesn't smell as bad as petroleum based oils. Watch out for the flare up) and let it cool down.  Then see if a file will bite into the hardened edge.  If it does, find another blade to try.  If the file won't cut into the material, then you have decent blade material.

[Chris Lantz]

I tried making a knife from an old band saw blade that came out of a saw mill. It didn’t turn out very good, I believe because the blade got too hot while grinding, so you may want to be careful of that.

David Boye’s book, “Step-by-Step Knifemaking” has some good information on making knives from saw blades including the process of annealing and heat treating steel if you want to go that far. Also some saw blades are made from high speed steel (L6 I think it’s called) which is more difficult to heat treat then some other types of carbon steel.