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I want to make my first knife.

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R H Clark:
I bought 3 old saw mill blades at a local mill.They are about 40 inches across and are the kind that were sharpened not the kind that takes replaceable tips.They are pretty rusty but I got them cheap.

What do I need to use to cut them?

Will they need to be heat treated and tempered?

I don't have many good tools and just a cheap grinder.If I need to buy a couple of tools could someone reccomend any or a good book to get me started? This may turn into another hobby but I would like to sort of get my feet wet first without spending a lot of money.

Thanks guys and thank you Trad Gang for the site.
Randy

Lin Rhea:
Randy,
      What you are asking is a step by step. No problem, if the moderators are OK with it. The steel is more than likely L-6 (great for a knife), but will have to be annealed and heat treated again. You can certainly make this knife with very few tools. I can help you by email, if neccessary. Have you seen the book $50 knife Shop by Wayne Goddard? How thick are the blades?
                                  Lin

tippit:
Lin,  Go for it.  I don't see any problem with a step by step making of a hunting knife.  Alot of guys would probably like to see how to come up with a stock removal blade...tippit

Lin Rhea:
Thanks Tippit.

Ok Randy,
         First, I'm jealous. L-6 is one of my favorite steels. I use it a lot, but I have to forge weld it up to thickness. Yours is probably 1/4 inch.
           
   You'll need to cut out the general profile of the knife leaving some grinding room. If you can get access to a torch or plasma cutter, great, but you can also cut it with a hack saw, if you soften it some. Just build a wood fire and lay it on the coals for a while letting it get hot and cool slowly. Just heat the area you want to cut. If you can get it red hot, great.
     Let me know if that's enough of a start. I'll be checking. PM me if the thread rolls down too far. Lin

R H Clark:
Thank you very much Mr.Rhea.
Yes it is about 1/4 inch thick.There were a few more of these blades at the mill that had been in a fire when the guy's mill burned down.I didn't get them because they were pretty much warped and bent up.Not folded over but enough that I didn't know if I could get a straight bowie blade from one.I could get some for about $10 each if they could be straightened later.

I've heard of the book.I have a Jantz catalog.I've just started being interested in knife building so ordered the catalog and been trying to read everything I can find on the web.

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