[George Hill]

I have a Del Tin 5150. I find it's a little long for me, and I sometimes think about having it cut down. Taking a few inches off the tip might make a world of difference in it's balance. I find it rather point heavy really.

Is this feasible, or would it just ruin the blade? (IE, expose softer internal steel, and ruin the temper?) I'd hate to damage it, I just would like to modify it, or have it modified.

[G. Scott H.]

Welcome, George. Here's a thread I started on this very subject a while back. http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...rten+blade
It appears that the main consideration is not getting the blade too hot while cutting/filing it, which would ruin the temper.

[George Hill]

interisting.... thanks!

Still, I'd very much like to hear from those who have, by accident or intent, seen the inside of a Del Tin blade. Mine was bought from MRL way back when they offered Del Tin blades.

I'm sort of afriaid I'll make the cut, and find soft iron inside..... you know? The standerd paranoia of the fellow who is worried about screwing up one of the nice things he owns whilst trying to make it better.

[Russ Ellis]

[Angus Trim]

[Mat Billings]

I remember cutting a blade down once; as has been mentioned, if you keep an eye on the blade temperature, it can be done without difficulty. I cut down a blade a while back using a hacksaw; the trick with this method is in finding a hacksaw blade harder than a del tin blade. One thing you won't want to do, is use say, a zip disk mounted on an angle grinder or other such powered methods; I highly recommend doing it by hand, as it allows for more temperature control. As too there being softer iron inside...there isn't; the blades are made through a process known as stock removal ( http://www.myArmoury.com/feature_groundpound.html)It'll probably cut a lot easier and cooler if you use cutting fluid religiously during the process; hope this helps.

( [url]http://www.myArmoury.com/feature_deltin.html [/url])