knife from lawnmower blade?

[olebama]

The wife's cousin has been making knives out of lawnmower blades. they look pretty good. What do our experts think of this? Would lawnmower blades have the kind of steel to make good knives?

[crashdive123]

They may be OK to practice on, but the problem is ----- what type of steel is it and what temperatures do you use for a proper heat treat?

I've tested a few lawnmower blades and my experience is that I was unable to heat treat them to get hard enough to hold an edge. They may look OK, but their performance will most likely be worse than a knife from a steel that can be properly heat treated.

Just my opinion, but I think as far as performance goes - the heat treat is the most important step.

[thywar]

I'm certainly no expert but since I swiped two cents from the blind homeless man I'll throw them into this pot. Crash is telling you good info. However grab some used lawnmower blades at the lawnmower shop ( I got six for free) find a style you like and go to the grinder and have some fun. I had very minimal experience using any type of grinder so it was a challenge for me. But you can have fun, make a sharp pointy object that just may come in handy.

Just have some fun.

[olebama]

Thanks, gang. That is what I was thinking.