Mike
Yeah, handling a wide piece in the saw is a pain. I have used the drill hole method also. Sure easy to wipe out the offset of the teeth when not going in a straight line.
The major portion of my sheet will be water jet cut. You cannot come close to the optimization of steel by hand that you can by nesting patterns and water jet cutting.
I don't think I can band saw cut and grind into profile at a per blade total cost (labor and perishables) that is cheaper than the total blade cost and extra blades I get by water jet.
Of course, I keep some of the sheet in a strip as you mention for those onsie, twosie patterns.
I ended up at $17.40 a pound for the CPM154. I hope to net out about 80 blades total. The 154CM was $3 a pound cheaper. The edge should be a bit better with the CPM due to smaller and more uniform particle size to start.
I was going to go with CPM S30V, but find it to be a little bit chippie (due to vanadium???).
So going to try the CPM 154.
But of course the reality is, performance in the field between the different steels will be hard to differentiate if grinds, heat treat and sharpening are equal.
Guess I have something to keep me busy this summer.
Tim
