Thread: Metal for frameback blades?

I was wondering if anyone knows of a readily available source for pre-hardened steel in a thickness close to 1/16" that would be suitable for making a frameback blade? I know that I can buy O1 bars that thickness, but I'd rather not have to send such small blades off for heat treatment. I was thinking of doing something more along the lines of stock removal like some guys do when making knives from old files.

(hack)saw blades?
I can think of plenty of things, but all off them are going to be more expensive than a piece of O1.
Thin pieces are very cheap to mail, so a piece of O1 or 1084 would be fairly cheap in the end. Especially if you mail a couple together.

Originally Posted by Bruno

(hack)saw blades?
I can think of plenty of things, but all off them are going to be more expensive than a piece of O1.
Thin pieces are very cheap to mail, so a piece of O1 or 1084 would be fairly cheap in the end. Especially if you mail a couple together.

I realize that the cost is going to be more than that of just buying a piece of O1, but I'm only wanting to make a proof of concept razor. If it turns out well, I'll try for something more refined. Any specific type of saw blade I should look for? I'm hoping for a blade width, including the frame, to be between 5/8" and 6/8".

Originally Posted by myersn024

I was wondering if anyone knows of a readily available source for pre-hardened steel in a thickness close to 1/16" that would be suitable for making a frameback blade? I know that I can buy O1 bars that thickness, but I'd rather not have to send such small blades off for heat treatment. I was thinking of doing something more along the lines of stock removal like some guys do when making knives from old files.

If CONUS,PM an addy,will send a Nicholson hack saw blade that is 1 1/8 wide no prob.

I'm a newbie when it comes to Straights, but have been making knives for a few years.
I have never heard of "heat treated" blanks per se, and using old files, I just put them in my kitchen
oven for two hours to soften them up before cutting / grinding them. They then have to be heat treated,
there's no way around it I'm afraid.

Have you considered a "two brick forge " ?
1. Two brick forge
2. Virtual BBQ - 2 Brick Forge WIP
3. Heat treating o-1 - The Knife Network Forums : Knife Making Discussions
4. Making Of A Knife

Originally Posted by bongo

I'm a newbie when it comes to Straights, but have been making knives for a few years.
I have never heard of "heat treated" blanks per se, and using old files, I just put them in my kitchen
oven for two hours to soften them up before cutting / grinding them. They then have to be heat treated,
there's no way around it I'm afraid.

Have you considered a "two brick forge " ?
1. Two brick forge
2. Virtual BBQ - 2 Brick Forge WIP
3. Heat treating o-1 - The Knife Network Forums : Knife Making Discussions
4. Making Of A Knife

The two brick forge looked pretty simple to build, so I stopped by the hardware store after work and picked up a few things. I guess I got a different kind of fire brick (they only had one kind in stock), because these things are too hard for the hole saw I bought. The teeth were literally gone in about 10 second. I'm going to go back for a diamond tipped hole saw tomorrow and see if that will get the job done. If not, I may have to try to source the softer variety before I can continue.

Stick to O-1. It's a much simpler steel for what you want instead of the high alloy steels that hacksaw blades are tipped with. Those will be tricky.
Find an art supply store, they have a lot of different refractories and will have a much softer firebrick for what you intend to do.

Art supply stores? I never would have guessed they'd be a source for fire bricks.

You need fire bricks for baking pottery.
Or rather, you don't 'need' them per se, but using firebricks to make an oven for baking pottery is much easier than various other ways.

Well, it may not work very well, but my version of the two-brick forge is complete. I went back to the hardware store this afternoon after work and got a diamond-tipped hole saw along with a 1/4" masonry drill bit. The hole saw made short work of the firebricks, and then I started stacking them up and drilling holes through the corners so I could bolt them together. I used 1/4" threaded rod with some washers and wing nuts for holding everything together. I have some hardware cloth that I'm going to wrap it all in, but I decided to wait to do that until after the refractory cement gets done drying. I don't have any pics of the newly built forge, but I'll be sure to take some and let everyone know how it goes. I received the hacksaw blade from pixelfixed today, so now I've got to get started on the frame for this razor. Maybe I'll be able to take the forge for a test run Sunday night; that should give it plenty of time for the cement to set up before hitting it with some heat.