Possible head knife material

[327fed]

I bought a pallet of stuff at a sharpening service many years ago. Before I quit bidding they threw a box of these circular knives on. I have maybe 30 . 6 3/4 inch diameter, very sharp, beveled one side. Wonder if this would make a head knife if cut in 2. Not sure how to mount handle. Maybe leav a stem at the bottom.

[Leescustomleather]

I  imagine it is good steel but being a blade that is already made means that it has been hardened. You could cut it with an abrasive cutting wheel on an angle grinder but the heat of cutting would cause the steel to lose its hardness near the area that was cut, meaning the most used area on a head knife, the corners. You could normalize the whole blade , shape it and then reharden and temper it which can be done but it is probably more work that you want to do. If you want to do it I can tell you how.

I make knives, that is how I started working with leather, making sheaths

[chuck123wapati]

 

  On 5/17/2021 at 12:15 AM, 327fed said:

I bought a pallet of stuff at a sharpening service many years ago. Before I quit bidding they threw a box of these circular knives on. I have maybe 30 . 6 3/4 inch diameter, very sharp, beveled one side. Wonder if this would make a head knife if cut in 2. Not sure how to mount handle. Maybe leav a stem at the bottom.

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ditto i made a head knife from a blade it can be done but you need to keep the thing cool enough not to lose the temper of the steel.  If normalizing and re tempering remember you don't really know what steel it is so that will be a guessing game on the temps needed, the end product may not come out at the hardness it was or that you may need. I cut my blade out with an angle grinder but far enough away and slow enough to keep the cutting edge safe, then it takes a bunch of grinding with water to get the job done. If you search the subject there are a few threads on the subject. i made mine a full tang and also have since reground the primary angle of the edge as it was to short.

Edited May 17, 2021 by chuck123wapati

[tsunkasapa]

On the other hand, it could be a fun, educational project, resulting in an excellent end product.

[zuludog]

You don't necessarily have to make a full size round knife. Search around on YouTube, Google, and Etsy. There are various types of mini round knives, single point head knives, and other asymmetric shapes

[chuck123wapati]

  On 5/17/2021 at 1:18 PM, tsunkasapa said:

On the other hand, it could be a fun, educational project, resulting in an excellent end product.

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agreed the only way to learn and why i tried it. Mine works great.