Modifying a saw blade

[Don Case]

I have a couple of these Zona backed pull saw blades. I'm wondering if I could cut it where the red line is to make a thin keyhole type blade? They are a pull type blade so they don't have to be too stiff but I hate to ruin a good blade so I thought I would ask if anyone had tried it. 

[Jaager]

I have not tried this, but it is something that I would possibly try.

 

Six:

I would start with the narrowest blade I could source.

I would do the cut fairly close to the handle and sacrifice a lot of the length.

I would separate the blade from the support to do the cuts.

I would take the outer end to a point.

When the blade is fitted back to the mount, I would drill a couple or three small holes thru the mount and top edge of the blade and secure the blade to the mount using eyeglasses size screws.

I would finally try the journal suggestion to greatly strengthen the cutoff wheel that I would use to do this by adding a coat of thin clear epoxy on either side of each wheel.

 

The experience from this experiment would be worth the cost of a Zona or similar blade.

Wait a tick:

when I checked MM to see what are the brands for economy razor saws,  I see that Zona sells two keyhole style blades - no top edge support at the root, but?

I would probably see if a short piece of a scroll saw blade would do the trick.  A wide choice to TPI are available there.

[jhearl]

You can cut these saws with a cut-off wheel in a Dremel. Just be sure to wear eye protection. Here's a Japanese-style  pull saw I recently made for a diorama from an old Exacto saw blade.

 

[mtaylor]

X-acto makes some keyhole blades.  Fairly cheap in a package at around $6 - $7.  

[Bob Cleek]

There's a reason for that spine on the back of that blade. It's quite possible that the blade is quite brittle as saw blades go. There's less need for more expensive steel to be used if the blade is going to have a reinforced back and harder steel stays sharp longer. You might find it snapping the first time the slightest bend is put in it/ Not sure what steel it's made of, but "just sayin'" The commercial hobby knife keyhole saw blades are so cheap, I can't see the point of cutting up a decent saw like you have. It's just not cost effective.

[Don Case]

OK

the Zona keyhole saws are .020 thick with relatively big teeth. I have two dull ones. The one I'm thinking of butchering is .010 thick with tiny teeth.

Apparently the Xacto #15 is not available any more but Excel makes a replacement. I can't find any tooth count or kerf width on them. They look very similar to the Zona keyhole.

Scroll saw blades sounds like a good idea but I just did a quick search and 28 tpi is the smallest I can find. The Zona pull saw is more than 50

 

I'm going to give it a try.

 

I cut the back with a cutoff wheel and the blade with tin snips. The snips curled the blade a bit but it straightened out fine. I was afraid to use a cutoff wheel on the blade because I would lose the temper. Anyway it works great and I can make a second one from the piece I cut off. The picture looks like the blade has been overheated but it hasn't. It's fine, just the flash from the camera. 

 

Edit- It took about 2 minutes to do.

Thanks for the input.

Edited July 6, 2021 by Don Case