bandsaw blade material

[metalmaster1766]

ok i did a search, all i can come up with is that the only bandsaw blade that is 15n20 is 4 - 6 inches wide
i have some, 1", 1.25", and 1.5" wide blade, about 1-1/2 TPI all i know about it is, is was all from a wood cutting bandsaw
i havent had time to do any spark testing, but i think ill grind/cut all the teeth off before trying to forge weld together if it appears to be a bi-metal blade

anyone have any idea what type material these blades are?

thank you very much Ron Smith

heres a picture of the blade

[LDW]

I did a search as well, I have several big bandsaw blades but have not tried them. This has a little info on bandsaw blades but is a good article on steels.

Steels Useful for Tools

[Ecart]

I sharpen the wood cutting bandsaw blades at the mill where I work. The two types that I sharpen are 8" and 11" wide. They are both 15N20. Very good steel for knives and Damascus as I'm sure you know. I would dare say that the narrower blades that you have are probably bimetal. But then again as far as I can see in the pics, the rust is the same on the teeth as it is on the body of the blade. I could certainly be wrong here- and someone who knows better please correct me if I am- but the rust patterns on the body looks the same as on the teeth. So, maybe it is the same metal?
My reasoning is that I have an old axe head that is iron with a steel bit. You can see that the bit is rusted differently than the rest of the head.
Just my thougts on the subject.

[Rich Hale]

Bimetallic blades use a backing that is Only there to give a place to attach teeth made of a better material for the use. It is just a guess as to what that backing may consist of. The blades that Ecart uses woulf be great for knife making and in billets. If you want to forge weld I persoannly would not use the bimetallic blades but would and do use 15N20. I mix it with a simple 10 series steel so I can get a nice contrast in the billet. And as I always say time spent on basice blacksmith skills will pay off a lot if you get into blades later.

[Dodge]

That you know what the content is of the wider blades is an asset. To find the content of other blades may be a matter of luck or corporate espionage LOL. Exact content of most commercial cutting tools it often a heavily guarded secret.

[brucegodlesky]

Quench it and see if it hardens. If so, use it. I been using similar stuff and haven't had any problems. Actually , I use those blade patterns plus a metal cutting blade (1 1/4") All were quench tested so I use them.Here's an example.It has those 3 sb steels plus 15n20 and some spring steel..

[MRobb]

LDW, thanks for the great article. What a great resource! I printed it out & will read it tonight. Thanks again.

[WagonMaster]

Originally Posted by LDW

I did a search as well, I have several big bandsaw blades but have not tried them. This has a little info on bandsaw blades but is a good article on steels.

Steels Useful for Tools

I would also like to thank you for this great link.