A composite utility blade and method of making such a blade involves butt joining a high speed or
tool steel wire to a
front edge of an
alloy steel backing strip. The wire defines a predetermined cross-sectional shape that substantially corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the
cutting edge of the blade. The wire is
electron beam welded to the backing strip to form a composite strip defining a first
metal portion formed by the
alloy steel backing strip, a second
metal portion formed by the high speed or
tool steel wire, and a weld region joining the first and second
metal portions. The composite strip is then annealed, and the annealed strip is straightened to eliminate any camber therein. The annealed composite strip is then hardened such that the first metal portion defines a first surface
hardness and the second metal portion defines a second surface
hardness greater than the first surface
hardness. The hardened strip is then subjected to
tempering and
quenching cycles, and facets are formed on the edge of the second metal portion to form a straight,
tool steel cutting edge. The composite strip is then scored at axially spaced locations to form a plurality of
score lines, and the plurality of
score lines define a plurality of blade sections there between. The
cutting edge may be coated with AlTiN,
TiN, or an inner
coating of AlTiN and an outer
coating of
TiN.