I have a question for anyone who'd like to take a shot at it. I have a sawmill blade, 26.5 inches in diameter. There are some markings (letters and numbers) on it, that I can copy and list here if need be. It's definitely not an old rusty blade, but appears to be what I'd refer to as contemporary. My question is, is this blade useful for making knives? I'd like to slice it up into 1.5 inch slabs, and that brings up another question; if the blade is suitable for making knives, how would you recommend that I cut it into strips? I'd looked into water jet cutting, but that turns out to be cost prohibitive. I written to one sawmill collector's association, but haven't heard a peep out of them. Any information you can provide is much appreciated. Thank you.
Hello Elden. The best way is to get a chemistry done. Other than that you can do a spark test and see if the steel gives off complex sparks with a grinder. You can always cut a piece and heat treat it using the method for L6 or 15N20. Bring the piece up to non magnetic hold for a couple of minutes then quench in heated (120 degree) canola oil or vegetable oil. See if it gets hard. Being a more contemporary blade I am thinking it may not be suitable. A lot of times they use a milder steel for the main body and have carbide teeth. One last suggestion is to contact the blade company or check their website and see if they say what the blades are made of.
My suggestion would be to contact Aldo Bruno, The New Jersey Steel Baron, and order steel from him. He has 1084, 1075, 5160, all good steel to work with and fairly simple to heat treat, also inexpensive.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
I echo Brion's advice about the blade and the suggestions for blade steel. Blade steel is cheap in comparison to the time, effort and other expenses to make blades. It is important for anyone to increase his odds at success to reap enjoyment from the craft and build confidence and establish reference data. Knowing the steel removes some of the variables and makes it all go better. Sometimes I will use unknown steel to challenge myself, but I don't hinge my career on this.
Thank you, I will follow your suggestions. Of course as a newbie, I don't know what those method numbers mean. I will find out though. thanks again.
Hello Elden. The numbers are steel designations. The 10 series are plain carbon steel without a lot of alloying elements. The last two numbers stand for the amount of carbon in the steel. For example 1084 is a plain carbon steel with .84 percent carbon. 5160 designates a chromium spring steel with .60 percent carbon and around .1 percent chromium. The majority of steels we use in bladesmithing are carbon steel not stainless.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
|quoted:
Hello Elden. The numbers are steel designations. The 10 series are plain carbon steel without a lot of alloying elements. The last two numbers stand for the amount of carbon in the steel. For example 1084 is a plain carbon steel with .84 percent carbon. 5160 designates a chromium spring steel with .60 percent carbon and around .1 percent chromium. The majority of steels we use in bladesmithing are carbon steel not stainless.
Brion
Thanks Brion. just for grins, I may just load the blade up and bring it down for you to look at. Let me know what would be convenient for you.
