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.