Recommendation? Edger Blades for Knife Making

J

jolson

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Mar 15, 2018
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I am wondering if anyone knows what kind of steel lawn edger blades are made out of and if they make good knives? They seem to be pretty hard and they aren't very expensive.
 
There is a very good reason to use old lawn mower blades that have no more use. When first starting out knife making and money is of concern, there is an argument for using old lawnmower blades. Not with the idea of making the best knife, but as practice steel. Weather forging, or grinding and just starting out it's always good to learn on scrap steel. Why not use a no cost lawnmower blade? It will harden and temper to give practice in HT'ing, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING this is for practice, and the finished knife might or might not be much good.

When I first started I used rototiller tines to forge a small skinner. After forging, HT'ing, and tempering the blade would shave arm hairs with no problem, and held an edge pretty good. My brother dressed a deer and felt it was a good knife. Do I think it's as good as a good 1084 blade would be? Not at all, but it was free steel, and gave me good practice with forging and grinding.
 
Here is a link to 1084 blade steel, 18 inches for 7.50. That is enough for two knives so if your edger blades are more than 3.75 each you lose money, and if you make a decent first knife from an edger blade it is just a letter opener, if you use 1084 you have a good knife.
The blade steel is the cheapest part of the knife.
http://www.knifemaking.com/product-p/xb0812.htm
Do what you want but remember you will spend more in time, abrasives, handle material than you ever will in steel for a knife.
 
I tried numerous heat treats on lawnmower blades (not the industrial blades) and barely broke Rc50 out of quench on some, and was in the low 40’s on others. If you have to use reclaimed steel, go with old files, and as long as they’re not case hardened, you might end up with a serviceable blade. Just temper them at 450f, then grind them carefully. No heat treat required even.
 
I always used known knife steel when I started. The cost of making a blade that didn't come out well and throwing it away bothered me less than the possibility of making a great looking blade of junk and still having nothing but junk.
 
I think the OP is talking about scrap (FREE) lawn mower blades, I wouldn't even consider "buying" lawnmower blade to make knives. Ooops, just realized the OP was talking about "edger" blades, not lawnmower blades. I'll bet they from about the same steel as lawnmower blades, maybe the same as the rototiller blades I used?
SBuzek said:
Here is a link to 1084 blade steel, 18 inches for 7.50. That is enough for two knives so if your edger blades are more than 3.75 each you lose money
Click to expand...
Jantz shows the cost of shipping on that one piece of steel to be $17.95, so the cost suddenly went up to over $25 for an 18" inch of practice steel. "IF" it happens to turn out good while learning to move steel you've done "ok", but most likely for the first couple of forged knives you're going to scrap them. Mystery steel sure does start to sound good for practice.

I found a post by Stacy where he tells a bit about lawnmower blades (most likely similar to edger blades):
Except for a few blades made for professional landscaping equipment ( like used on golf courses) they are not 1095, 1084, 5160, etc. as often claimed. The alloy is basically a 1548 alloy.....1% manganese and .45% carbon.
Click to expand...

At .45% carbon that makes them somewhat similar to a railroad spike which make great decorative knives.

Ken H>
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
Seriously?
Click to expand...

When I was writing my posts I was thinking "forging", but after reading the OP again I realize he might be talking stock removal. There are a few folks who decide to try knifemaking that have worked with tools, grinding, and perhaps even forging for years and can make a very nice knife from the first piece of steel they pick up. Most folks are going to need some practice on moving steel with first starting to forge. Even stock removal (if using a grinder) it will require some practice to grind a nice looking bevel. There is a real need for something to practice on that is free, as in no cost because the odds of making a nice blade first time out is slim. There has been much talk about using paint sticks to practice grinding with, and they work. Old lawnmower blades is another thing that can be used for learning. Read back over my posts, they ALL have "free", and "don't expect a good blade" verbiage.

If money is no object and you can toss a $10 to $15 piece of metal and not feel a little heartburn, then by all means, use the good stuff to practice and throw away. Not me, I hurt each time I screw up and have to throw a bit of steel away. While I did some learning on coil springs for forging, these days I use mostly AEB-L for knives. I like that stuff!

Ken H>
 
I'm going to have to agree with K Ken H> on this one. I've already ruined the first 3 nice chunks of 52100 trying to forge. I sure wish I could get that steel back when I know what I'm doing. 3" X 24" X 1/2" completely ruined. I've got some leaf springs on an axle to a camper I tore apart and used the steel frame of for a porch roof on my shop I'm going to practice with so I don't ruin the rest of 52100 I have. I've already almost ruined another piece the other day. So yeah, I'm going to practice on some junk.. Might be a little different if I had someone knowledgeable right there with me giving me direction, but figuring it out on my own is proving it looks easier said than actually doing it. Things get real when you put the hammer in your hand from reading about it or watching a video about it.
 
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I think you are much better off ordering a few bars of a simple carbon steel from a knife supplier than using edger blades.
 
If you want to practice on junk steel, then practice with it, but do yourself a favor and do not make knives with it.

Grind it, sand it, drill it and then do it again. But when you get good the last thing you want is those "practice knives " to come back and haunt you.
I have know more then one knifemaker who have bought or wished they could buy the crappy first knives they made out there that are just embarrassing.

Honestly if you are going to worry about the cost of steel it is probably best to not take up knifemaking. That is like becoming a baker and looking for a cheap alternative to flour and sugar.
 
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