I know this sounds silly, but unfolding bandsaw blades has always been one of the most stressful things for me in the shop. After years of throwing them on the grass, and running for dear life, I finally ran across a blade this didn't work on. I have a 143" x 1" TimberWolf. Just came in the mail. I threw it on the grass. Nothing. Did it again. Nothing. Did it a lot of times. Nothing. Ut Oh.....
I asked around. Nothing. Finally, I spoke to a full time machinist. He showed me the simplest, safest way of doing this I've ever seen. Do you guys know the technique of finding the "free" coil, holding the other two coils, teeth pointing towards you (free coil pointing pointing down between you and the two coils you're holding), and then just slowly twisting the coild you're holding apart? The blade just gently unfolds with a little *Fwip!* right at the end, and done. No stress, no cuts, no aerobic sprinting. Total non-event.
How could I be 35 years old and NEVER known about this before?