Making a knife blank from a bandsaw blade?

[Dave Shepard]

I'm thinking of making a knife blank, or possibly just a hunk of workable steel, by welding a band from a sawmill over and over. I don't know what the steel is made from. If I draw it out and weld it, will it make damascus? I don't know anything about damascus. Thanks.


Dave

[Rich Hale]

What kind of band saw blade is the first question there are many kinds,,,Things to look for; If it has teeth that have been added on its not good for blades,,If is fairly wide like 8" pr so and teeth are cut into it and it came from a saw mill then it is likely the good stuff. if it has what they call bimettalic teeth pas it by they are usuall small teeth and set sloce together for cutting metal.. If you have the good stuff and want to play weld it up and see what happens. If you have troubles getting forges welds to stick may want to save the stock for when you can weld every time. If that is the case maybe you could read a bit on damascus. Actually quite a bit to ti,,,but I am proof that anyone can do it. But it was not a starting point for me at the anvil good luck

[Dave Shepard]

Thanks Rich. The bands are from a Wood-Mizer mill. They are .055x1.25"x13'2" long. They are not a "tipped" band, no carbide, and not bi-metal that I know of. You can see some temper colors on the very tips of the teeth, I believe it is induction hardening. If it's not good for knives, I'll find somthing else to make with it. Probably hooks, I know how to make those. I'm going to try and go to the forge tomorrow, will report back after I've given it a shot. Thanks.


Dave

[brucegodlesky]

Test it and see if it hardens. Heat to non-magnetic and quench in oil. If it becomes very brittle, it will make a knife blade.

[metalliferous]

Some bandsaw blades (though usually more of the metal cutting persuasion) have odd coatings on them you'll have to remove somehow before welding.

[civilwarblacksmith]

Also make sure the sides that will be touching each other are free of any type rust or they may have a tendency to rust from the inside out. Plus it will make for a better weld.

[Dave Shepard]

I didn't have much luck welding it. Got about an inch per heat. There was also a lot of scale. We played with other things today, so maybe next weekend we'll try folding it and see what happens. I quenched it, and it's definately brittle.


Dave

[Rich Hale]

SCale can be cleaned with flux ,,,twenty mule team laundry soap works well

[ThomasPowers]

Bandsaw blade is often hard to weld to itslf due to the Ni content. I like to alternate with pallet strapping, shows the pattern better too.

That's a pretty big width to start welding with; may I suggest trying it with thinner BSB and strapping first? I like to size my billets to the forge I'm using so I can weld up the billet in at most 2 heats.

I have welded up those exact BSB's before and they did not seem to ba a problem, I used to weld the big billets at SOFA meetings where I could use the 50# LG triphammer.

[FredW]

I have done the same with bandsaw blade and pallet strapping. I have had some nice damascus from it. A little more difficult to work with because of it being thin but can be done fairly easily (lots of borax). Bandsaw blade material (for sawmills) can be L6 steel, a very good nickel steel.

[ThomasPowers]

A couple more tricks for BSB and PS billets: stack them in alternating layers with PS on the outsides for a coal forge and I like to wire the billet together---I reuse binding wire from hay bales; because if you weld the ends up when you start heating the billet the outer layers heat up first and bow out leaving gaps where crud can fall in. Also heating very uniformly helps to keep the bowing down. The wire ties allow the sides to just shift wrt the center layers.

I run the forge up real hot and then nestle the billet in it and turn off the air and go get a drink or something to allow the billet to warm all the way through in a compleatly reducing atmosphere. When I came back it is generally ready to wirebrush and flux and snug down with the hammer and back into the fire and start adding in air slowly to bring the fire to a welding heat.

When it's ready---looks like butter melting in the sun; but no sparks, it take it out and quickly! (my first welding instructor would yell at me "Hit it don't look at it!") But not sharply---a firm blow not a sharp one---push the layers together starting at the hottest end and working toward the cooler end. Then flip end for end, wirebrush, flux and back into the forge before it loses colour! Bring that end up to welding heat and start welding from the middle toward the "open" end.

With good welds you can then work the sides as well as the flats; but remember if you hammer the sides you generally make the flats into a shallow trough that will hold crud when you notch it about 2/3 the way through and fold over; so make sure you reflat or even arch slightly the flats before notching.

I have made a special cutting plate for notching with a center line and then chiseled marks along the edge every 1/4" away from the line so I can lay the billet on it and quickly find the center to notch it so it folds evenly---for some reason I can make a good "by eye" call and I've been welding billets for over 25 years!

So notch, wirebrush the in side and fold and flux quickly and back into the fire. (note that you may have to take more than one heat to do this when you are starting out)

When you take it out to weld again start at the fold and work your way towards the open end. (with my typical billet you can weld the entire piece now that it's been folded over).

if that weld's good then draw it out keeping it at a very nice hot temp so as to not stress the welds as much.

Repeat until you get the count you want. If you decide to twist, rounf the piece except for the very ends you will want to grab with vice and wrench for twisting. Twist at hot temps, reheating as necessary, beter to do 4 heats than shear your welds!

I find that etching in hot vinegar and salt makes for a very bright etch but little topography compared to Ferric Chloride.

[tantrum86]

Thats a lot of good info but if i may add one thing that helped me alot when learning how to forge weld was if you use 20 mule team borax its a good idea to bake out the chemical water all you do for that is take your borax put it in a oven container of some sort and bake at 400 for at least two to three hours.(just incase someone didnt allready know that)

[Finnr]

I use 20 Mule team both baked out and straight from the box. Either works about the same for me. But then Your personal mileage may vary.
Finnr

[Frosty]

A little foam bothers me less than the hassle of trying to grind oven baked borax back into a usable condition does so I use it straight.

Used to anyway, now I mix it 4 pts : 1pt boric acid. It works well.

Frosty