Knife From Sawzall Blade

I've made a few knives in recent years and had wanted to make one from a saw blade. Since I'm almost 81, I cannot get to my shop as often I once did. Here is a simple little knife I made recently that I like a lot.

I started with this worn out Sawzall blade. I shaped it with a bench grinder, a high speed air disc grinder & a 4" wide bench mounted belt sander.

I had this deer antler left over from another handle I made from the crown. https://www.instructables.com/id/Turquoise-Insets-M...

I cut out a straight piece of the diameter I wanted for the handle. Measure 3 times, cut once.

I did very little to the antler except drill a hole with a 1/8" bit and enlarge it to accept the tang of the blade. I cemented it together with 2 part epoxy.

I polished it slightly with polishing wheel & medium compound. I didn't want it glossy; only semi glossy.

To jazz it up a little, I decided to add an inlay of turquoise to the handle. I did an Instructable on inlaying and it's too involved to cover here. If you want more info on inlaying go to:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Turquoise-Insets-M...

This turned out to be one of my favorites. it is small and easy to use. The handle has a slight downward shape and fits my hand nicely. The blade required no shaping except rounding the end and sharpening it. It had already been heat treated, I suppose. It's not as big as my huge Bowie made from car leaf spring but it's a nicer size. https://www.instructables.com/id/Bowie-Knife-2/ It's almost the same size as our set of steak knives

Try making one from a Sawzall blade. You'll enjoy making and using it or giving it as a Christmas gift as I am doing with this knife. I'm sure my grandson will appreciate it and save it as a family heirloom.