Saw Blade Sharpening

[Wes Bischel]

I have a few questions about blade sharpening. I just had one sharpened and unlike the service I used through work, I was surprised by a few things.

What is the typical cost for a 10" TS blade 50 - 60 tooth carbide ATBR? Rounded off of course.

Do they grind the faces of the blade? Is this done because it is out of round?

Just curious because I never had the face ground on a blade before.

Thanks, Wes

[Steve Clardy]

60 tooth, about 12.00

Never had a face ground I guess.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Check with Dynamic Saw in Buffalo. They post their prices on their web site. 6-40 teeth $8.50, 41-60 teeth $12.00

[Wes Bischel]

Thanks guys - it ran a little over $13 plus tax - I guess I was getting a good deal through work! I was wondering about the face/side of the saw. Never had everything ground off before (printing that is). It was an older Delta blade I use for ply and MDF, so I figured it was no great loss. My WWII definately not get that treatment.
Maybe I'll give them a call and ask.

Wes

[Rob Wilson]

Forrest will sharpen your WW2 blade at the factory.

http://www.forrestsawblades.com/sharpprice.htm

[Keith July]

Wes,
I own a sharpening service and charge $12.00 for the blade you discribed.
It is standard practice to grind the face and top of the teeth. The only time that I grind the sides is when a tooth has been replaced.
IMHO... If I were to grind only the tops it would reduce the number of sharpening that you could do on that blade. The top of the tooth is angled toward the back of the tooth so after a few grinding the height of the tooth is shortened to the point the you start grinding into the steel behind the tooth.
When grinding the face and tops you reduce the amount of carbide that has to be removed to get back to a sharp edge.
Keith

[Jim Becker]

I use Forrest and the cost is about $15 or so for a 10" 40t blade plus transportation...and it will cut your hand if you're not careful. Shipping to/from New Jersey isn't that bad, either. They will sharpen any brand blade...and in my experience, they come back better than new.

[Wes Bischel]

If I remember correctly, Forrest has a very good reputation for their sharpening service. I figure, when needed, the extra few dollars for the shipping is worth it.

Keith, thanks for the additional information - good to know. I don't know blade lingo, but the sides I was refering to were the sides of the steel "body" of the blade - where the name etc. is printed. It looks like they took 60 grit sandpaper to it. I am just curious as to why since I have not had that done before. It may be as simple as they took most of the finish off when cleaning it so to make it look better, they ground it down. Again, not a big deal, these are my beater blades, just curious.

(The pics show both sides, and how the blade used to look.)

Thanks again for the information

[Keith July]

From the picture it looks like they used a "polisher" on your blade which is nothing more than a 80 grit flap wheel that sands off the grime and anything else that is on the side of the blade. I only use it for blades that have heavy rust or burnt on pitch.(from your picture I would say that is not the case with your blade) I have a cleaning tank that I use for the majority of the blades that I sharpen. The cleaning solution does a good job of removing the build up and it make it alot easier to clean the gullets but it does remove some labels.
One suggestion would be to clean your blades before you drop them off and ask them to skip the polisher.
Keith

[Wes Bischel]

Keith,
Thanks for the advice. I had dropped the blades off at our local hardware store and they sent it out, so communication was a bit disjointed. Next time I'll make sure I specify in writing what I'd like done.

Wes