First thing to check is whether they are All-hard or Bimetallic. The bimetal don't usually have much hard metal on and you'd need to plan things pretty carefully to keep it as the cutting edge of a knife.
All-Hard are usually ok. Most places I've worked in the past, all the guys on the tools had a rough-and-ready "cutting implement" ground from an old hacksaw blade, usually with the teeth ground off and duct tape applied for the handle. If you can identify the brand, a quick search will usually tell you the type of HSS they are made from.
1/8" seems thick. I am in the UK and things are probably different here, but I think the thickest material I came across for the (14", 350mm) saw that I used to use was 2mm (.080"). Most blades were around 1/16" from memory. The kerf is obviously wider than the blade stock because of the set of the teeth. If your source is the guy who actually uses the saw, there's a fair chance he thinks in terms of kerf width.
All-hard will almost certainly mean you are stuck with the HT the factory felt was appropriate for an HSS hacksaw blade. Bimetal blade manufacturers will not usually give the grade of steel used for the back of the blade, though they'll usually tell you the grade of HSS used for the teeth.
