Sharpen or sell blades?

[joe milana]

I have never sent a blade off to get sharpened so I don't know what to expect. I have two freud premier fusion blades and two WWII blades that are in good shape, but when I start seeing a little tear out when crosscutting hardwoods, I just get a new blade. My question is what can I expect from a sharpened blade? Will it perform like a new blade, or will it be somewhere between new and pretty sharp? I would be sending the Forrest blades back to Forrest, and the freuds to an authorized sharpening center. I have also considered trying to sell the blades for a fair price and let someone else have them sharpened. Any thoughts are appreciated.

[Jason Hallowell]

They should perform like new if sharpened correctly, which I'm sure forrest will do, and would guess most places authorized by freud will also do. I bought a cheapo dado set that was poorly sharpened brand new. I took them to be sharpened locally soon after purchasing them, and they came back better than new.

[Rick Fisher]

I just got 2 blades back from being sharpened. I have always felt that they are actually sharper than new. Its probably not true..



The ugly one is a Freud Glue Line Rip.. That was sharpening #4 .. The other is a 60 tooth Freud miter saw blade..

The company I use acid washes the blades, it destroys the red paint job.. doesnt matter to me..

[Jason White]

It will perform better than a new blade. Also much cheaper than buying a new blade.

Jason

Originally Posted by j milana

I have never sent a blade off to get sharpened so I don't know what to expect. I have two freud premier fusion blades and two WWII blades that are in good shape, but when I start seeing a little tear out when crosscutting hardwoods, I just get a new blade. My question is what can I expect from a sharpened blade? Will it perform like a new blade, or will it be somewhere between new and pretty sharp? I would be sending the Forrest blades back to Forrest, and the freuds to an authorized sharpening center. I have also considered trying to sell the blades for a fair price and let someone else have them sharpened. Any thoughts are appreciated.

[Jason Strauss]

Hey Guys,

What does blade sharpening cost? You all make it sound worth it, but how much cake are we talking here?

[Fred Hargis]

Originally Posted by Jason Strauss

Hey Guys,

What does blade sharpening cost? You all make it sound worth it, but how much cake are we talking here?

Sharpening is very inexpensive (usually), here's the price list from the outfit I use...they do router bits, many blade sharpeners do not.
http://www.bullsharp.com/pricelist.htm

[Ed Sallee]

I just received two of my WWII's back from Forrest - this is the third set that I've sent in and received back.

I have three sets (6 blades) of WWII's. Both 40 tooth, one is an alternating top bevel and the other is a #1 OD grind (flat bottom). These are my workhorses.

All three of my sets have been sharpened once.... and they come back from Forrest like new. And last go 'round, I sent in three sets of planer knives for my ancient DW733 and I'm still working with the first set to go on the machine. I put them on 01/03/09....still planing through the curly maple with no problems.

My most recent (June 2, 09) bill was a grand total of $51.00 for two blades. $41.00 for sharpening and $10.00 for shipping. Well worth the money spent, as it would have cost around $250.00 to replace the blades.

One of my blades was damaged, in that one of the welds on one of the teeth was coming undone - allowing for a little strip of metal to stick out perpendicular to the blade. My blade is now like new and I don't see a charge on my invoice for the repair....so, it looks like they fixed it pro-bono.

I will probably not buy another new blade until Forrest tells me that the blades I'm sending them can not be sharpened any longer. Even then, they will replace all the teeth on your blade for 80% of the cost of new blade... something to consider, but I'm a long way off from that.

The 1/8" kerf remains 1/8"..... and they plow through the hardest of wood with no problems....

I highly recommend Forrest and their sharpening service.

[Tony Bilello]

Originally Posted by j milana

........ I would be sending the Forrest blades back to Forrest, and the freuds to an authorized sharpening center......

That is the best plan. Someone with cheap sharpening equipment can easily turn a $100 blade into a $10 blade in an instant. Also note that Freud blades have radically different angles than most other manufacturers and must be done by Freud authorized service people.
If you send Freud to Freud and Forrest to Forrest your blades will come 'same as new'.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Sharpening circular saw blades will cost maybe a quarter of the cost of a new blade, depending on the blade's original cost. I use a sharpening service that can sharpen everything I need done...saw blades, router bits, planer knives. Besides, who are you going to find to buy a dull saw blade? I would be afraid of not only the teeth being dull but anything else that could happen to a blade.

[Matt Tawes]

I've always used http://www.dynamic-saw-blade-sharpening.com/ over the last 8-10yrs. and blades come back exceptionally sharp (new sharp) and they will replace knicked or missing teeth. Good prices and fast turn around.

[Frank Drew]

I can't imagine not resharpening good blades; that would be like throwing your clothes away after one wearing.

I think I read a post here once that purported to add up all the costs associated with sending your blades and other tooling off to be sharpened, and how it might not, in fact, be economical to do so once you included shipping expenses. Missing from that analysis was the waste factor -- it's bad enough that we throw away all those cans, bottles, packaging, etc., but perfectly good, renewable tools?

[Jason White]

I believe my local Woodcraft charges $.40 per tooth to send them out. I'm sure there are cheaper places around, though.

Jason

Originally Posted by Jason Strauss

Hey Guys,

What does blade sharpening cost? You all make it sound worth it, but how much cake are we talking here?

[scott spencer]

Every answer to this really depends on a bunch of factors... A good sharpening should make it perform like new, but you need to be fussy about who you pick to do it.

Regarding the value...that also depends on what you paid for the blade and how much you get for it used, plus what a new replacement costs....those all vary. Figure roughly a 50% hit...possibly more depending on how they look, and whatever the current market will pay. People have been pretty tight lately due to the economy. There are other factors to consider too...time to list a blade for sale, time to package and mail it, PAyPal costs, etc. There's also time ramifications to consider ....travel, gas, or shipping, plus time the blade will be gone.

If a new WWII happens to be on sale for $65 with free shipping, and it'll show up in 4 days, and you can sell your current blade for $45, it'd be tempting to sell it and buy new. If a new blade is $109 plus tax or shipping, then sharpening is more attractive.

[Eric Larsen]

Originally Posted by j milana

I have never sent a blade off to get sharpened so I don't know what to expect. I have two freud premier fusion blades and two WWII blades that are in good shape, but when I start seeing a little tear out when crosscutting hardwoods, I just get a new blade.

Send one of each back for sharpening. That way you always have an "on deck" blade.

Sharpening is less expensive, just as effective as buying new, and gives someone a chance to work for a couple hours.

[Greg Crawford]

If you choose not to send them back to the manufacturer and get them sharpened locally, make sure the shop uses CNC equipment and original specs. Also, make sure they will inspect the blade for any defects, loose or chipped teeth, plate flatness, etc. Check costs of repairing, and find out if they will just fix the problems or get your approval first. Most reputable shops will replace one or two teeth if needed, but any more than that they'll ask if you want it done. It would be a good idea to get some references from others that have had their blades sharpened there.