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I Forge Iron

Meat cleaver ideas?


Ecart

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Hello everyone.
A guy at work asked me today if I could make him a meat cleaver out of some saw blade steel that I have. I said I'd give it a shot. Keep in mind that I have never finished a blade before. But here's what I will probably do: I plan to cut out the basic shape from a piece of 3/16" thick circular saw blade- it's the cleanest that I have as far as rust damage. I will most likely grind in edge bevels but I have considered forging them in to some degree. One of the main problems that I may have is heat-treat. If it will fit in my small toaster oven, how long should I leave it in there and at what temperature?
Any other suggestions would be great as this is the first one for me.

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Not knowing the chemical makeup of the sawblade, start at 400 and watch the oxide colors. I'd take it to a vermillion color for a cleaver , mebbe a little past.
You could also try a n edge quench, getting the entire cleaver up to temp., then let the heat of the blade bleed into the edge , tempering it. It's a bit tricky but works on hawks.

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I would love to tell you the steel is L6, but I don't know. Thanks for the suggestions. Tomorrow I actually have to go out and get the steel out of the pile. I know exactly where it is; I saw it a couple of days ago. That's why it came to mind.

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