older SS blades worth sharpening?

[dlbristol]

Hey guys, I have been off the forum for too long, good to be able to be back on and doing some wood working. I found a pair of SS blades at the local Habitat store. One has a 500 arbor on it and they are not carbide blades, but they were $6 for the lot, so I grabbed them. They look to be in good condition, flat and pretty clean. One is reasonably sharp and the other needs some work, but is ok on pine. Are these blades worth sharpening to be used with some less critical cuts and with salvaged materials that I use sometimes?

[ERLover]

You wont know if you dont get a cost estimate to sharpen them compared to some cheap carbide big box or Harbor Freight blades which are around $12.00. Unless they will not fit on a SS Arbor.

[jsburger]

Hey guys, I have been off the forum for too long, good to be able to be back on and doing some wood working. I found a pair of SS blades at the local Habitat store. One has a 500 arbor on it and they are not carbide blades, but they were $6 for the lot, so I grabbed them. They look to be in good condition, flat and pretty clean. One is reasonably sharp and the other needs some work, but is ok on pine. Are these blades worth sharpening to be used with some less critical cuts and with salvaged materials that I use sometimes?

If you have a 500 then the arbor is worth the price. As for the blades, I would say it depends on how much it will cost to sharpen them. There are some very inexpensive carbide blades available. If the cost of sharpening is more than an inexpensive carbide blade I would pass unless you can use the arbor. Remember, if you hit something in reclaimed wood the steel blade is probably toast and if it happens just after you had it sharpened the money was wasted. Carbide blades, even the cheap ones, will survive much longer.

I keep two (rip and crosscut) cheap carbide blades here for questionable reclaimed wood.

[dusty]

It is hard to say without knowing what type of wood working you are into.

Remember, for many years we had nothing any better than old the steel blades. Now sharpening back in those days was not as expensive as it is today.

I keep mine (cross-cut, rip and plywood) on arbors hanging in the shop where they are easy to reach.

Would I go out today and purchase equivalent replacements...absolutely not. I use them so infrequently that I don't recall when they were last sharpened but they are still good enough to use (especially on wood with unknown character).

Check your local Ace Hardware for sharpening.

[ERLover]

Since my memory excludes me sometimes, I mark my Freud blades with a Sharpie when sharpened last, since I do use my TS and CPMS a lot, or used to b4 mom. BUT it is not about when last sharpened, it is how they are performing.
Sometimes it is just about cleaning some pitch off of them, I soak them in Baking Soda water mix over night, and then a Brass brush, but this is all been discussed here B4. There are other products out there, just Mineral Spirits will work too.

[jsburger]

Since my memory excludes me sometimes, I mark my Freud blades with a Sharpie when sharpened last, since I do use my TS and CPMS a lot, or used to b4 mom. BUT it is not about when last sharpened, it is how they are performing.
Sometimes it is just about cleaning some pitch off of them, I soak them in Baking Soda water mix over night, and then a Brass brush, but this is all been discussed here B4. There are other products out there, just Mineral Spirits will work too.

Why is that not true? I do believe performance is an indication but performance deteriorates over time that we do not perceive. Cleaning will not make a dull blade cut better.

[ERLover]

Since my memory excludes me sometimes, I mark my Freud blades with a Sharpie when sharpened last, since I do use my TS and CPMS a lot, or used to b4 mom. BUT it is not about when last sharpened, it is how they are performing.
Sometimes it is just about cleaning some pitch off of them, I soak them in Baking Soda water mix over night, and then a Brass brush, but this is all been discussed here B4. There are other products out there, just Mineral Spirits will work too.

Why is that not true? I do believe performance is an indication but performance deteriorates over time that we do not perceive. Cleaning will not make a dull blade cut better.

John I agree, dull blade does not cut better even if clean, BUT in my experience I have had blades with pitch on them that were still sharp but cut like a dull blade, and with cleaning performed better. My TS is only a 1HP Delta so power is an issue.

[dlbristol]

I pulled the blades off the 500 arbor, cleaned them up and tried some more cuts in some Oak. They are functional. I will probably use them to cut in some non precision projects or as spares when I get the good blades sharpened. According to the local guy here, they are worth a sharpening when needed. So I have a 500 arbor that I would give to anyone who needs it. PM me for specifics.

[ERLover]

I pulled the blades off the 500 arbor, cleaned them up and tried some more cuts in some Oak. They are functional. I will probably use them to cut in some non precision projects or as spares when I get the good blades sharpened. According to the local guy here, they are worth a sharpening when needed. So I have a 500 arbor that I would give to anyone who needs it. PM me for specifics.

Why sharpen? you can get blades from Harbor Freight for less then sharpening, and better steel/carbide then the SS steel blades then you have.

[dlbristol]

You are right, I just hate to discard stuff if it is functional.