Making a Knife From a Circular Saw Blade
We’re back at it for another fun knife build in the shop. Today we throw back to my knife making roots right out of college. I wanted a backpacking knife, couldn’t afford one, so decided to figure out how to make one myself. A few google searches later, and low and behold, I discovered the process of making a knife from an old circular saw blade. Today I’ll show you how to make a knife that will serve you well. Although it’s not the best, it’s very serviceable, and depending on your intended purpose, it can be just as effective as a knife that would either take you much longer to make, with more tools, or one that’s much more expensive than most of us are comfortable with. We hope you enjoy, and get into your shop to make one for yourself. (Oh yeah, and I put a bottle opener on the spine, so cheers!)
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To be honest I watch way too many KZhead videos on anything from guns to knives home improvement DIY you name it This is one of the best most comprehensive DIY knife making videos I've ever watched Thank you for the content.
Thank you Joel. I appreciate the compliments. I try to make the videos I would like to watch and learn from.
At least someone knows how to use a file. Saw a video earlier a kid was filing pushing and pulling the file. No you should only push file away from you. Great Job you know how to use a file properly. I'm 60 years old and been sharpening since I was 14. Had to cause I loved whittling. So 45 years experience I think I know what I'm talking about. Just wanted to tell you Thank You for using a file correctly. Great Job
Thats the popular opinion but thats been proven false regarding filing. I used to think like you until I saw FireBall Tool's experiment regarding this. Check it out. Search your use For Fire Ball Tool File test and you'll see. It's a really elegant experiment.
Wow, an American craft youtuber that *actually* uses a safety guard on his angle grinder!
Lol.
I like your workshop, it looks like a real workshop not one of those pristine pretend studio shops. Thank you for the video.
Best part of these videos is seeing the knife makers smiling after!
True Craftsmanship. Attention to detail, lots of patience, old school layout tricks and great music for humming!
Truly not. The edge retention will like a six cuts and gone :D. These 'knifemakers' are a joke to real craftsmans. What about to find out some information about steel first? No? If the saw blade has welded teeth, the body of the blade is junk steel about 0,3% C and can't be used for a good knife. So much work for such a useless result.
@@funnyfly3550 The creator already said himself that it's not good steel for knives, and he's just doing it for fun. You know, a hobby. It's also good practice before using quality steel.
Now all that bush blade needs is a nice leather sheath to keep the edge sharp and on your hip. Beautiful work.
You are the Bob Ross of cutlery. Thanks for the video!
Great Video! I'm 67 and am getting into the knife making game, rather late. BUT, I became disabled in 2001 and am now back to where I can do a few things that will supplement the disability/Soc. Sec. payments. I was Blacksmithing and getting into knife making before I became disabled so, now, I'm starting all over again and videos like this help, A LOT! THANKS!
To the marginally negative comments by some regarding Harbor Freight Tools; a craftsman can use any tool. Tools don't impart talent, tools in the right hands (like this guy's) are simply an extension of the body. I can't see the knife looking or performing any better with the use of a shop full of overpriced tools...
Theres a saying i like to use for those people. "All the gear and no idear"
ABSOLUTELY!!
certain Harbor Freight tools are great like their hand tools and power tools if you use them for DIY projects. I wouldn't recommend them as a daily tool for contractors or folks in construction.
But it will make ypur work faster and easier after you reached a specific skill level. Nonetheless one should start with juat a hacksaw and some files. It works fine!
fuck off the guy was amazing, fuck harbour freight
I knew I saved all my old saw blades for something . My son is going to want to start doing this . Thanks for the video .
Love the daughter and the dog in the back hanging out with dad. Great work brother, makes me feel like I can do it......
Thanks Jim. You can do it!
Also it was good of you to leave you daughter and lab in the video. Good touch.
Awesome knife and skills. I too am a metal/wood craftsman. I have built airplanes, custom cars and thousands of custom parts, so I appreciate skill. That knife and your execution of the design is a work of art. My hat is off to you on this project, now I am going to have to make a knife.
Retired guy. Any day of the week is fine by me. Completely enjoyed the knife build. Nice dog! Now I have to go shopping for an old saw blade and some cool handle wood.
My husband really enjoyed watching your video...and LOVED your finished product~even the bottle opener feature! 😉
Love the video, but also have a of suggestion: name the materials as you're using them - such as the spray you used when sanding the blade and the solution into which you dipped the handle; also, regarding the handle, what type of wood you used and - stating the obvious - how you turned the wood to get that nice chevron pattern. All the best.
How did you make jig for angle grinder please?
I would suggest saving the original drawing in your sketch book by using a copy machine to make a copy, and then use the copied piece of paper to make your template pattern. You can buy a copy/fax/scanner machine for under $100. Beautiful design!
Right?! I immediately thought of that. Also he could get some transfer paper and trace that sucker.. Cutting them out of the sketchbook is... interesting.
The timber clamped on the blade to keep the line straight when filing is the piece I've I've missing!!! Thanks a lot 🤙🏻👌🏻
Beautiful design, craftsmanship, and execution. Videography & music very elegant. 3 and a half eights, measurements from a gone by era.
I love the almost documentary style videography in this! Great work!
There's 40 mins of my life that I DIDN'T waste!
I love the almost documentary style videography in this! Great work!
Lovingly done. Gunsmith here. I look forward to seeing more of your work.
That beer is well deserved!! Well done my geez good job!
Knife turned out gr8. True Craftsmanship. I noticed you said half of 7/8" is 3 1/2 8ths...this is true. A trick for you....any fraction under 1 inch use this method, half of 7/8 keep top number which is 7 ...and double bottom number which would be 16....7/16...my father taught me this trick 30 some years ago. He was a welding teacher for 30 + years. Half of 3/4 would be 3/8. You may have known that trick or not....just passing along knowledge. Great video shots.
I've never heard that before, awesome idea and it works. Thanks for the tip👍👍👍
I would not normally translate half of 7/8 to 3 1/2 8th, my brain don't work that way. So if you don't have 1/16" scale: 7/8 = 1/8 + 1/8 +1/8 +1/8 +1/8 +1/8 +1/8 . So half of that is 3 of the 1/8 plus half of an 1/8 left, which is 3 1/2 8th. Count three of the 1/8 on the 1/8th scale and eyeball an addition 1/2 of that. So half of 5/8 is 2 1/2, 9/8 is 4 1/2, and so on. So it's pretty easy now, just half of the odd numbered numerator plus 1/2. Would have been easier with an engineering scale or go metric.
Go metric.
Thanks
i learned that in third grade
I will never make a knife but it was a pleasure watching you do it. Great video!!!
You are indeed a Craftsman...fantastic work and channel. God bless.
a perfect job for a perfect craftsman, EXCELLENT JOB ,I know u dif not learn it overnight, u did born ur eyebrows to earn PERFECTION!!! I AM 72 YRS, I KNOW WEN A JOB S PERFECTLY DONE, KEEP IT UP AND GODBLESS!!!.
Fantastic video. I learned a lot here. The quality of all your camera angles and shots are great. Everything can easily be seen. Thanks for putting out this video. I can't wait to check out some of your other content. You are a true craftsman.
A true cutler, I retire soon and you my friend have inspired me,
PLEASE SIR NO DISRESPECT BUT PLEASE FIND A REAL KNIFEMAKER IF YOU ARE GOING TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE KNIVES
?
Great video my brother! For sure a great idea as well! Stay safe and keep having fun!
a real man doesnt need bottle opener! I love you knife btw..nice work buddy..keep it up!
One thing I would suggest is getting a scanner or photocopier, that way you can keep your original design in your sketch book.
or some carbon paper - low tech but it works!
Great tips on getting the knife handles lined up.
Fantastic job ..... everyone should recycle and repurpose their old saw blades like this. Work of art!
18.10...strikes the punch and at that instant an acoustic guitar riff. I love it. I'm a musician and totally mesmerized by the artistry of making a blade and the background music. Great video...
Thanks Tim.
The world needs more guys like this .Thinking outside the box .
Awesome. Thanks for making this video Dustin.
Good work on that...healthy knife with purpose...learned a lot from this...thank you!
Your videos are the best being new at all this the long videos cram in tons of info that I find extremely beneficial
That is a Beautiful knife, And the handle turned out awesome. I would like to inform those that are thinking about trying this, that the saw blade is probably made out of low carbon steel something like 1008 1018 or so. At best you are going to get about 45 HR"C" from what ever the manufacture used, the tips on such a saw blade have carbide soldered on to the tips, in some cases the blade is from a high carbon steel, but the tips are flame hardened, leaving the core very soft. A good knife should have a hardness around 58-65 HR"C" depending on its end use and material type. But such a tool is a great way to get started in the buses of knife making. Just remember, if you can cut it with a file easily, it is not hard.
@Jim Marcum Hardness Rockwell C test
Old planer blades make great knives
Is there a way to harden the steel like heating it red hot and plunging it into water or oil?
@@lanetterichardson9322 this only works for high carbon steel. Heat to cherry red and quench in water makes high carbon steel hard but brittle. Cleaning it back to bright means you can then anneal it. Heating it will produce varying colours from light straw through to darker straw then to blues. This reflects a range of reduced brittleness and hardness. For low carbon steel you can case harden it by heating to cherry red and cooling it in a carbon rich compound to give a hard outer layer - repeating several times.
@@jonathanlodge4014 thanks for the info.
Great video. Very informative and well done. I have made unsuccessful attempts at making a saw blade knife. But i do alot of woodcraft. Bows arrows etc. Even if it doesn't turn out as well as expected you always learn something. That makes you better. Looking forward to watching more of your videos. Well done.
Thank you for the compliments. If you have any question, or need any advice, send me a message, or an email to theartofcraftsmanship@gmail.com, and I’d be glad to help any way I can.
Great job and craft. Thanks for the videos.
really like that mate, its a refreshing change from people who have a multi thousand pound £ set up. i started making my knifes very much like you have just shown. I enjoyed it much more than now as i'm trying too hard. lovely little simple knife that most people could make.
enjoyed the slower paced video and good music, fantastic blade! makes me want to go and tidy my shed and make something.
Thanks for the compliment. Nothing like cleaning a shop and then getting down to business. My suggestion is offer some beer and pizza to some buddies and have them come and give you a hand. Thanks again.
Love your show. Good to see the old ways coming back. In my day when you made a knife out of an old saw blade. That was not just recycling, it was the way you did things. Younger generation call it bushcraft. I called it the way of life. Thanks again. From the mountains of South Carolina. John
Great video. Thanks for the instruction. I knew there was a reason I was saving all those saw blades.
I can watch these kind of videos for hours!!!
You produce awesome videos and products. Keep up the good work!
Great knife and great video! Pro Tip: Use a slower speed and higher pressure on your drill press when poking holes in steel. Your bits will rub less and take bigger chips which carry away more heat from the workpiece. This ensures your tools don’t overheat and lose hardness leading to breakage or dulling as rapidly.
He did.
Hard Metals: Slow Speed and Higher Pressure. Soft Metals: High Speed and Lower Pressure.
@@user-td1zo3tv9p Why would it be different for softer metals? Won't bigger chips due to more pressure also carry away more heat?
Beautiful Knife. Well crafted.
Excellent ,very interesting for a beginner .I watched it 3 times ,I have learned a lot .. thanks for sharing your skills.
Thanks for watching Mike.
I found myself watching it from start to finish. Loved the background music.
Absolute skill and craftsmanship. Loved the video. Very informative and fun to watch.
Best KZhead video ever.
I did a similar project, it turn out great but not as great as yours. One can only try... and as you said, we can teach & learn form the community. Cheers mate.
Love this knife, going to give it a go and try a old saw blade knife making 🙏
The edge retention will like a six cuts and gone :D. These 'knifemakers' are a joke to real craftsmans. What about to find out some information about steel first? No? If the saw blade has welded teeth, the body of the blade is junk steel about 0,3% C and can't be used for a good knife. So much work for such a useless result. FYI, I'm metallurgy specialist.
My first thought was WAY overthinking the handle. But when you went to sand it I was like DUH! outstanding man really!
Nice video. Thanks for not wasting footage on prolonged filming of redundant processes like sanding and filing.
Beautiful work!
Beautiful. I can’t understand why anybody would not give this a thumbs up. It was a delight to watch your video.👍
Awesome on every level? Thank you for your complete detail.
Hello Dustin.. Cliff here. I just came by your channel last night by chance. I just wanted to to let you know that I find your channel to be extremely enjoyable. Your channel is right up my alley. Your interests are very much the same as my own as far as tinkering , repairing and manufacturing go. Im a new subscriber to your channel and look forward to hearing about all your new videos coming up. Good work Dustin.
Great job you are very good explaining all your steps , I enjoy your video
Hey, that was cool. I really enjoyed watching this project.
Flying Dog beer?! You're a lucky man, we can't get that down here in Florida. Beautiful knife too. I'm inspired; except for the band saw, I've got enough tools to do this. And I've got a couple old 10" table saw blades to experiment with. Beautiful job, thanks for posting.
Awesome all the way till the end!!!
You do excellent work, awesome knife
This is awesome! Please make another! Glad your using harbor freight tools! Makes me think I could do something similar with my humble tool collection.
Don't use HF circular saw blades, too dangerous. Mine flexed and deformed under load and bend over rotating at thousands of RPMs. YMMV
Hey Dustin that turned out very nice it’s beautiful I’ll be watching thank you for the video.🕶
Dude got skills!
You, Sir, are a Master Craftsman. An Artisan!
that was a great bit of all around craftsmanship. Thanks for showing ,
I love the bottle opener that can also be used as a knife...
Great job brother.
came out great!
I really enjoyed this video. The knife turned out beautifully.
Love the simple methods involved. I don't quite have all the tools but I can make it work. I'll give this a try
What is special about a craftsman’s work is the creation is done by design, but more importantly, part by what the craftsman feels as he inches through the project. Good work and video presentation. It should inspire any beginner to begin their own journey.
Thank you brother.
I appreciate the demonstration. Almost anyone could do this project with only simple tools. The music is a really nice addition.
I loved the video, you inspired me and my son to make a knife for my wife's birthday. We made ours from a lawnmower blade and oak hardwood floor samples from home depot. Ours isn't as polished as yours but it came out great for a first knife and it works for limes and beer.
This is where I started 11 years ago, saw blades. Your metal work is pretty much identical to the process I use, but out of all the knives I've done, you went way, way further than I ever have on the handle...fantastic job on the wood choice and work. I went all in on a antler handle for a grandson, and I used a piece of Mahogany on one other knife for my best friend. I have used PVC and almost every thing else that I thought may be durable. I go all out for rugged not looks, but it's good to see what can be done... Thanks for the video.
The edge retention will like a six cuts and gone :D. These 'knifemakers' are a joke to real craftsmans. What about to find out some information about steel first? No? If the saw blade has welded teeth, the body of the blade is junk steel about 0,3% C and can't be used for a good knife. So much work for such a useless result. FYI, I'm metallurgy specialist.
Your full of yourself bud
Dustin you are a man among men. Wonderful design and procedure!
Wow, that's a nice knife, I knew to save my old saw blades.
Great video. A fantastic looking knife and I love your easy "laid back" style.
first time seeing your channel, won't be the last. sweet knife, I would be proud to make and own a knife like that
Sweet knife. A wonderful multi-tool. You have a very nice shop there.
You are definitely a craftsman superb knife great video complete and concise fantastic workmanship best JWH
Great video and teaching, appreciate it very much. Beautiful knife and handle came out great✌🏻✌🏻
I was so grateful to see this film what an instructive thing to create.
I don't know why people would give this a thumbs down. I thought it was pretty cool. Might try using Tyvek tape to tape the pads on your clamps instead of wrapping the handle with painter's tape so you don't have to worry about your clamps getting epoxy on them and also won't have tape to scrape and peel off the handle after it dries.
Thanks! That’s a great tip!
A fine piece of craftsmanship...That's an heirloom item right there, gorgeous knife.
Sir, your craftsmanship is first rate... But your video production skills are some of the best on KZhead. Can't wait to see what's next. Thanks for all the effort you put into the channel.
If he was REALLY good, he would make a sawblade knife and keep a CarbideTooth for the knife tip
I have just started making knives and was wondering about using old saw blades, you have answered that question really well. Thanks for sharing.
I've had good luck using chain saw bars if you want something thicker
Inspiring work my good sir! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks
Wow.... Beautiful job brother
Beautifully done. Thanx for this. Now I'm motivated for my first knife. Thanx
thanks for the video, I was needing some advice on putting a handle on a knife that was given to me without one
You're a boss. My cousin is making knives thats why I'm watching this and holy hell I have literally 0 equipment to make gorgeous pieces like you! Props!
Thanks JJ!
Hand filing is like meditation to me. You know, wax on wax off ; )