Need advice cutting old saw blade

[Tom Rudd 4]

oops, highjacked my own thread...lol

[Alan Longmire 2,822]

Clifford, the way I see it, I agree with you on the common sense thing. I do not on the lazy or uninformed thing. I can only speak for myself, though, and here is my reasoning for avoiding scrap steels more unknown than leaf and coil spring, axles, or lumbermill bandsaw blade: I have a limited amount of time to do this stuff. I would rather use that time working with a steel I know how to HT for best performance for the task at hand than experimenting to find the best way to treat something that may or may not be knife grade to begin with. Yeah, it can be done, no argument there. With experience any smith can figure out how to do it. In my opinion, which is only my own, I think new smiths are better served working with known steels until they learn how to deal with heat treating a variety of things in water, oil, or air. Kinda shortens the learning curve. I have no problem with anyone experimenting away to figure out what works for which. Hell, I play with homemade steel, and that stuff is more of a mystery than most! I just think it's easier for new guys to use known stuff.

[Clifford Brewer 372]

Clifford, the way I see it, I agree with you on the common sense thing. I do not on the lazy or uninformed thing. I can only speak for myself, though, and here is my reasoning for avoiding scrap steels more unknown than leaf and coil spring, axles, or lumbermill bandsaw blade: I have a limited amount of time to do this stuff. I would rather use that time working with a steel I know how to HT for best performance for the task at hand than experimenting to find the best way to treat something that may or may not be knife grade to begin with. Yeah, it can be done, no argument there. With experience any smith can figure out how to do it. In my opinion, which is only my own, I think new smiths are better served working with known steels until they learn how to deal with heat treating a variety of things in water, oil, or air. Kinda shortens the learning curve. I have no problem with anyone experimenting away to figure out what works for which. Hell, I play with homemade steel, and that stuff is more of a mystery than most! I just think it's easier for new guys to use known stuff.

 

 

My choice of words may have been a bit harsh but it gets in my craw when people say scrap steel is the wrong choice for any thing and the cost of a lot of known steel

is getting ridiculous, a little studying on basic metallurgy and practice on more cheaply available scrap is good for anyone learning smithing

there is no ONE way to do things was my intended point.......