Using your old Stihl chainsaw bar to recreate a knife out of it is the most plausible option for ensuring that no bit of your once very costly investment into the machine goes to waste? Trust us when we say that no one wants that to happen- for the chainsaw bar to end up in a dump.
Chainsaw bars, especially those from a reliable brand like Stihl, are constructed out of the finest and highest quality metal. They are heat resistant and successfully withstand corrosion, therefore being an ideal material choice for making a knife.
You may know the steps required to compose a knife, but do I need to heat treat a knife from Stihl chainsaw bar? This is the real question, and we will consider it in this write-up.
Do I Need To Heat Treat A Knife From Stihl Chainsaw Bar?
The main reason a knife is heat treated is to solidify the metal further. Now certain factors will be conclusively determining the answer to do I need to heat treat a knife from Stihl Chainsaw Bar.
Utmost requirement here that you would have to inquire on your own is to investigate whether the metal of the stihl chainsaw bar you are aspiring to re-use is of high quality.
Generally speaking, though this is no hard and fast rule, stihl chainsaw bar metals are of exceptionally high quality compared to other brands. However, suppose you still feel that you need further to enhance the strength and the solidification of the metal for your knife to retain sharp edges and cut smoothly, then you must proceed with heat treating the knife from a Stihl chainsaw bar.
3 Steps For Heat Treating Stihl Chainsaw Bar:
If you want to satisfy your needs for the knife, you must heat treat it. But how do you do that? We will simply list the three crucial steps to be undertaken that will successfully heat treat your knife from the stihl chainsaw bar.
Uniform
Start by flattening the metal bar of the stihl chainsaw into a uniform state. When the bar is in a uniform shape, working with it will be easier as the metal will be more resilient to heat treatment.
For this, you can use sandpaper to ensure that the blade has been uninformed and scratch it against the metal so that it does not crack or warp when exposed to heat.
Then heat the metal against the source consistently and make sure that every bit has been covered. You can do this by constantly rotating the metal over the heat.
Quench
You have to be quick with pursuing this step as it would demand you to put the heated metal into a bucket of oil instantly. Move the bar continuously, so no bubbles form on the surface of the metal after it has been heated and when it comes in contact with the atmosphere.
After this, lay the bar on a sheet covered in oil and let the metal soak in the liquid, permitting it to cool out at its own pace and evenly on both sides. You may use any oil, but the common preference is canola oil, which exhibits great qualities in helping the metal cool down at a moderate pace.
Temper
Keep in mind that the metal is very brittle and can break at this point. Therefore you should soften the bar and relieve any stress that would have built up before you return to reheating it again.
For tempering the metal, use a heat source of 400℉ for an hour and repeat twice.
Conclusion
In this article, we have briefly addressed your concern of do I need to heat treat a knife from Stihl chainsaw bar, and we also have to aid you in your endeavor provided you with a simple yet straightforward method for heat treating.
