Hey guys,
one of my brothers brought me a box of used saw blades that they use at his work. He doesn't know much about smithing, just thoughy I could use them. He said that they use them to cut steel and that it was cheaper for them to throw the blades away and buy new ones than have new teeth put on them. They have carbide teeth on them. I looked up the company and found the blades on their site. They retail for $106 a piece and he brought me 15 of them. I know a lot of ya'll fuss at guys for using unknown quality steels but free is free. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> It's been my understanding that carbide tipped blades generally don't use good steel but at that retail price, would ya'll think these might be decent? I can't see mild steel retailing for that much. If nothing else, might they be good for cutting up and practicing forge welding?
Cheyenne Walker
Apprentice Smith
First off, I could not begin to say what steel it is. But,... unless I know what it is or there is a sentamental attachment to the blades, I would not mess with them. That's just me, so take that with a grain of salt.
My thinking is that it will take money, time, and sweat just to see if the metal will work for a blade. I would rather use known steel for my blades. But, guess what, I have several used saw blades laying in my shop right now. I'll end up hauling them off sooner or later. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />
I understand Lin. I think I will shoot the company an email and see if they can/would tell me what steel is used. If it's good steel, I'll see what I can do. If it's bad steel, I have a box of giant throwing stars. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//wink.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />
Cheyenne Walker
Apprentice Smith
Cheyenne, a lot of these blades are mild steel and just use the carbide for cutting. Personally I agree with Lin. Might be good, might not. You could always test a piece and see. The idea of asking the company is a good. Explain why you want to know and see what they say.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
If they're "Cold Saw" blades, they may be HSS bodied, but still not useful for forging. I'm guessing the carbide teeth versions are different and probably not HSS bodied, although the standard HSS Cold Saw blades are actually more than hard enough (plate quenched M2 or better HSS at around 64 RC) to grind a knife from. The HT regime afaik is some fairly complicated stuff though.
Here's a quote from "coldsawstore.com"'s description of the carbide toothed blades for cutting steel: "The alloy body is generally made from a wear resistant material such as a chrome vanadium steel, heat treated to 38/42 HRc ."
Unless you can get material specifics from the manufacturer, I'm guessing these aren't going to be all that useful.
I sent the company an email. Hopefully they can tell me what I need to know. I was looking at the blades on the site to make sure I had the right one and about fell over. The price of $106 is a sale price. They normally run $140 a piece. I should have sold saw blades. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />
Cheyenne Walker
Apprentice Smith
