ot got a metal question

ive got another "idea" i got a bunch of old files and a couple hand saw and 1 big junk buzz saw blades laying around and id like to make a try at making some home made knives, i know this used to be a common practice in my grandpas time, but how do you work the metal without loosing the temper, i think the files could be slowly ground into slape, making sure the file doesn't get hot, but the saw blades would have to be cut to shape, any ideas? i dont have a forge so loosing the temper of the saw blades would kind of defeat the purpose, it wouldn't hold an edge

I have made some special use knives from lathes cut-off tools and they worked fine. I still have on that has stripped insulation from a whole lot of heavy cable. I think a file would be a bit too hard or brittle to make a good knife. Files usually are about Rockwell C 62, which is very hard. It would hold a good edge but might break pretty easy. If you have access to a torch you might be able to draw the hardness back to a little and be ok, if you have some experience doing this.

i got a torch and a little experience, i say little as i did make some tools in college classes, but that was 40 years ago, and im not sure i remember everything about working it, in thinking on the files about heating to just red, letting it cool until the red is just dissapearing then quenching, but im not sure this is right to bring temper out, most of what i did back then was to put temper in a part

I have a home made power hacksaw that uses 1" tall x 12" long industrial hack saw blades.

That blade makes a very good knife blade. I will have to look and see if I have any used ones.

You should just do a search on Google and see what you come up with. We have a knife my grand pa made out of a power hacksaw blade for cleaning turtles. Hold an edge really well but takes a lone time to hone. I havea custome made knife my son got me for Christmas one year. It's made from a leaf spring. Guy who made that uses springs, hacksaw blades and saw blades. He grinds the shape not cut. Only way to shape some of those really hard metals is grinding while watching to be sure you don't get em too hot.

Rick

A friend made a knife out of a chainsaw chain. I dont know how he treated it but it had a nice design. I know he heated it up and pounded it into shape.

Take a hacksaw blade and bend it over till it almost breaks and you will see why they make lousy knives. The teeth are the only hard part of the blade the rest is made from a softer metal so that they don't break in use.
Walt

I have a butcher knife my dad made back during the war. He used a planer blade about 12" by 1 1/2" by 1/8. He ground it out on a grinder wheel. Holds a great edge.

When I was growing up, my Mom"s favorite butcher knife was one that her father had made in the 20"s or 30"s. It was my understanding that the knife had originally been a worn out file.

My grandfather was a self taught mechanic/blacksmith who built lots of his own tools. He made a trip hammer out of pieces of steel that is still operational in the old farm shop in Montana. It runs off a line shaft that was originally powered by a gas engine, but now is powered by a large electric motor. Grandpa spent lots of his time in that shop during the very cold winters and enjoyed building things.

The knife in question is very nicely made and holds an edge very well. It is shaped like a conventional butcher knife and tapers down in thickness from about 1/16" on the unsharpened edge to a knife edge on the other side. The handle is two pieces of some kind of hardwood attached to the tang with 6 small rivets. The blade is about 9" long and is not very flexible, but in 80+ years of use, it never broken or chipped.

Unfortunately my grandfather died when I was 3, and my Mom now has dementia, so I cannot ask how the knife was made. I doubt that my grandfather had anything more advanced than a foot operated grindstone, a post drill and his forge and blacksmith tools. So, in order to get the file soft enough to grind it, I suspect that he heated it up and carefully annealed it. He may have worked out the shape on the anvil, and possibly put the holes in for the handle rivets while the metal was hot. And then he probably spent a very long time grinding the metal down into the thin, tapered wedge that it is today. And when he got it about where he wanted the final knife to be, he must have retempered at least the cutting edge. After he was satisfied, he likely riveted on the handle and spent some time honing the final edge.

The knife was always one of my Mom"s prized possessions, and she used it all the time. She used the unglazed bottom of a ceramic cookie jar lid to rehone the knife, and it was always incredibly sharp.

I sure wish my Grandpa had lived longer. People have said that he and I share many characteristics and I bet we would have had a great time together. How many things I could have learned from that interesting and creative man!

A file can be softened by putting it in the firebox of a wood stove.Then it can be shaped and drilled for handle rivets.After that it must be rehardened.There is a company that makes knives from files.There are good books on knife making but the internet is killing the book business.

A 30 inch cord wood saw blade will cost 300 bucks new so make sure it is really scrap.

For the big buzz saw blade go to the Forestry Forum to find information and a possible buyer. List your location and open your e-mail. There might be some saw mill owners and blacksmiths close by that would either come and look or you could go to for help. For blacksmith help and information go to the I Forge Iron forum. A lot of knpwledge and helpful people on both of these forums. I am a member of both forums. Armand

My hunting partner"s cousin made a number of hunting knives out of planer blades. Apparently ground them in shape with fine grinder stone. Kept the temper, has kept the edge very nicely for years.

if you want to use a file, toss it in the wood stove, take it out and let it cool. It will soften. Grind the shape, re-heat in and water quench it. It will not harden quite as much as original, but the original hardness will shatter if dropped. Also, try making a knife out of a leaf spring or plow share. I've done both, they are very good hard steel. Do not un-temper them. Leave as is.

Those below that discuss industrial reciprocating hack saw blades are spot on. ! inch wide, and made from full hard alloy steel, the metal is extreme. Do it. A plasma torch is great for cutting outlines from a big saw blade. (make sure it has no saw value before cutting it up.) The files will have about 120 points of carbon. The saw will have About 100 to 90 points (maybe less if it has inserts) Alloy is much better than plain carbon. Jim

like the others have said, the file is to hard, you will have to heat and then retemper when finished it is just to hard as is will break easily

I think you'd better google homade knives or something. First the file/spring/whatever needs annealing, then shaping/drilling/bending, then polishing, then tempering (it's a lot more than just "get it red and quench it) then polishing more.