[birdog4]

Mong I'd have to agree with that with one big "if". If ya have enough material to play around with to find a proper heat-treat. if ya don't do the testing, a lot of labor can go down the drain.
By the time I have made a half dozen knives from a 52" saw blade , I pretty much know how it's gotta be worked. I'd rather do that many first and see what works, then have all the rest to get serious with. Besides, it's fun doing destructive tests and seeing just how much they will take.
I started doin' destructive testing over the winter. The first was accidental. I chopped the head off a deer with a skinning knife and plastic mallet. It chipped where it shouldn't have and got me to thinking. I then took a blade from a series forged from a coil spring and did the vice bend. Now, each new batch of salvaged steel gets the "treatment".
Gives ya a good idea what it will and won't do. bruce