How to Make Sawback Knives

Place the knife, blade side down, in the vise grip and tighten securely in place. Place duct tape on the sides of the blade to prevent scratching it.

Mark the locations for the teeth at equal intervals along the top of the knife with a black marker. These marks should be no wider than the width of your file. Mark a line along the blade for the desired depth of the teeth.

Place the tip of the triangular file onto the back of the knife at the desired location for a saw tooth and push the file forward, away from you. As the file cuts into the back, apply more pressure on the file equally from the top to drive the triangular-shaped file straight down. File straight down with the file to the desired depth, leaving a V-shaped wedge on the top of the blade.

Move the file to another mark and repeat Step 3 for each tooth, working from the center of the top of the blade, alternating cuts out on each side as you go. Do not cut teeth too close to the tip of the blade.

Sharpen the teeth as needed with the sharpening stone, shaving them down in a circular motion to your desired shape. Moisten the sharpening stone occasionally for lubrication and to keep the metal shavings from embedding themselves into the stone.