Cleaning and Sharpening are two different things. While I have yet to have mine sharpened, I am sure it is worth it. Cleaning, you can do yourself.

 

Jerry
You proably can get it sharpened locally for under $30.00 dollars if it dull what you got lose if got comes back sharper
Forrester only charges about 30.00 but you got shipping.
But I would clean it first, Forrest blades are usually good for about 40,000 board feet that is a lot of lumber. I have 2 I have never sharpened them

 

John,
I suspect that you are right about cleaning the blade, I have been told that oven cleaner is a good way to clean it. Also, when I bought the blade, I actually bought two of them and other one is on the RAS which is used very little. All I use it for is cut my rough cut lumber into lengths that I can handle on the TS, so it is still, really a new blade. I'll clean the other blade and get backw with the results.

Jerry

 

Jerry, Trend Tool and Bit Cleaner is very easy to use: spray it on, let it sit a couple minutes and then wipe it off. If you have a very heavy build up a second application may be required. This product works equally well on bits and blades. It also removes rust. I think this is about the best $12 (or less) you can spend for maintaining your tools.

 

Jerry,,,, give the trend product Mike mentioned above a try first. Its very good stuff!! Pitch build up can have a very negative effect on the blades ability to perform to expectations. Should you still have an issue, go and have it sharpened by someone who knows what they are doing. As long as there is enough carbide to work with, a freshly sharpened blade is darn near as good as a new one. Anymore, highend blades have enough carbide to be resharpened 3 and 4 times...
If you are not confident in a local sharpener, its worth the shipping charges to send it out......

 

Not all sharpening services are created equal. If you have a cheap blade then it doesn't matter. If I have an expensive blade, I would rather see it sharpened on a CNC sharpening machine. A good place to start would be to go to the largest cabinet making shops in your area and ask them where they get their blades sharpened.

 

all correct but there is one more thing as some persons who sharpen saw blades are not that good at it, I have sacked a few of them, your adviser may have had one sharpened by a less than ideal person, but when the good guys do it then they come back as good as new. NGM

 

You could be amazed how much it helps to do a good cleaning. I use "Mean Green", I buy it at the Dollar Store by the gallon and put about a 1/4" in a old cake pan then let the blade soak a few minutes then using a brass bristle brush rub the pitch off. It cleans up easily.

 

Send it to Forrest. Not only will they sharpen it but will replace any chipped carbide. The best people to do the job is the people that made the blade. JMHO.......

 

You can clean your blades with soap and water. I use Dr Bronner's soaps. You can get it in the grocery store.

 

Jerry, if you look at this chart of Forrest's blades, they have a variety of hook angles with the rip blades having the most hook and the miter blade having a negative 5 degree. It might be helpful to go through the list and see what they recommend for different jobs. Forrest Saw Blades Online a Saw Blade For Every Application

It might be worth sending them the blades as someone suggested. If you send more than one at a time it will make the shipping cheaper. The link is what they have to say about their sharpening service. Forrest Saw Blades Factory Sharpening Service

 

If it needs sharpening, send that Forrest blade to Forrest. In fact, send all blades worth sharpening to Forrest. They do the best sharpening in the world. Clean the blade if it's pitchy but if it needs sharpening, Forrest will do it to the same standard they used to produce the blade originally.

 

+1 on cleaning the blade first. I soaked my blade in white vinegar for about 30-45 minutes, then used a towel to wipe away the pitch. I think rinsed the blade with water, dried it thoroughly with a towel, then made a few cuts to make sure it was good and dry. The difference it made with the blade and the quality of the cut was amazing.

 

One other thing, Their have been reports made that will tell You not too use just any cleaner on Your saw blades! I have tried a few, and then read this in a woodworking book of mine. There are some solutions that can damage the braze of the saw, and cause the carbide to fail! I haven't had that happen, and I cannot tell You if it is correct. Wondering if Any one has had it happen, and what They were using? Just a area I don't know anything about, and curious if any one has?

 

There was a discussion a little while back about using caustic/lye/oven cleaner based solution and many of us have heard that it will do damage. However, someone posted an article from a guy that tested that theory by soaking the tips and checking after to see if the blade had lost any weight. This is pretty sound thinking since if there had been a chemical reaction, when you rinsed the solution off, some of the metal would have gone with it. His measurements showed no change after several soakings. So it seems that that is a old myth.

However, Trend blade cleaner works, you don't need rubber gloves and eye protection to use, and it is relatively cheap so even if the oven cleaner works, I'll stick with the Trend.

 

I second Garyk. Send it to Forrest. Don't ruin a $100 blade by trusting it to someone who doesn't have the equipment to do it right. I know someone who was a shop teacher and has won awards for his woodworking and he sends his blades to Forrest.

 

What Charles said.
I've used oven cleaner without any problems for years but it is corrosive and nasty stuff. Other posters here had mentioned 'Simply Green' as being an effective resin and goop remover. It is. It smells nice. It's not particularly dangerous. It's cheap (and so am I).

 

I just installed the Forrest blade back on the TS and it is cutting like new again, thanks Mike for the tip on the White Vinegar, it did a fine job.

Jerry

 

I'll make a note of that too!

 

Note on oven cleaners... I used to use long ago. Stopped using that when manufacturers starting putting coatings on their blades. Vendors said oven cleaners would break down the brazing between the blade and the carbide teeth... some said that it would break down the carbide. Some commercial sharpeners tested that and said they didn't see that happening. BUT both vendors and commercial sharpeners did say that oven cleaners would take off the coatings... So I stopped using that.

Simple green seems to work pretty well. I also have some other cleaners and caustics I use...

I also found that I cut better, blades stay sharper, stay cleaner... for a longer period of time if I use the lubricating sticks made for doublecut saw blades (HF has a deal on that). They are just a wax stick... and it helps prevent resins and pitch from sticking to the blades. When is comes down to it, wax is easier to clean off than heat cured pitch!!!

I modestly resharpen my own low-cost blades. I send out my high-dollar blades. I think it is well worth it. I have confidence in the sharpening shop I use. They also just take off just what is needed, so I get a lot of accurate sharpenings. They clean and retension the blades. My high-dollar blades come back just as good as new (maybe some a little better).

How do I know... Well a hint that between all the sizes of circular saw blades that I use on my table saws, miter saws, radial arm saws (multiple machines of each, well over 100 blades). I eval each cut by habit and do change out blades for use, material and quality.

Someone mentioned pitch angle and miter saws... Forrest does make blades for miter and ras saws, but the blade he is using is for TS and is (as I remember) thin-kerf. I don't used their thin-kerf blades. I do have 4 Forrest Duraline blades that I like... I'd say that they are in my top 10. (not my number 1 though.)

 

Mike, like so many things in life, the more you know about a subject the more complicated it becomes, but along with the complications is the enjoyment of the subject. In my case, my knowledge is so limited compared to yours that I just coast along in my ignorance and enjoy what I'm doing as I learn. I am absolutely fascinated reading about what you know about, in this instance, blades for woodworking. Thanks for taking time to share your vast knowledge.

Jerry

 

A simple coat of 'Johnson's Paste Wax', after cleaning, will help protect against pitch buildup. We use a product called 'Purple Power' from 'Dollar General' to clean all the blades. It is simply a high powered soap solution, and it works well and is fast.

 

Glad to hear the white vinegar worked, and the blade is cutting well again! It really is amazing the difference a clean blade makes!

 

The blade is clean and cuts great, but, on close inspection, there are some teeth with the carbide tips missing, so the blade is going to be shipped to Forrest to see if they can do anything for it.

Jerry

 

I was told by one person that a TS blade just never comes back from the sharpening in as good as shape as it was new and that he doubted that it worth having it done.

That is only one persons advice. I don't agree with it.
I've sent out several blades, that always came back as good as, or better than new.