The cheap carbide saw blades used in hand-held circular saws are designed to be used and then recycled, while the more expensive carbide saw blades used for table saws and cross saws can be re-sharpened 4 to 5 times. Even in specialty stores, these blades can provide years of service. There are two ways to sharpen the teeth on carbide blades. You can send the blade to a special sharpening shop, or you can invest in equipment to do the job yourself. There are nearly a dozen carbide saw blades in my woodworking workshop, and a pair of them have been used by me for nearly 20 years. I always send my blades out for sharpening. The cost of each 10-inch or 12-inch diameter blade is usually between $10 and $15, and the effect has been very good. The performance of the new sharpening operation is at least as good as the new blade. I don't live anywhere near the sharpener shop, so I wait until I have 3 or 4 blunt blades packed and mailed. There are some small machines specially designed for sharpening DIY carbide saw blades. The one I know is made by Viel (www.vieltools.com). I have never used this machine personally, but a friend of mine used it I just bought one in the welding shop. I will better understand how it works in a few months. In addition to having the necessary sharpening equipment, restoring the performance of cemented carbide saw blades does require skill. Some blade designs are easier to sharpen than others, but either way, you should expect to invest some learning time to get good results. Why do people in a welding shop need to sharpen carbide saw blades? In the past few years, cemented carbide metallurgy has been developed to the extent that it can handle heavy ferrous metals. The so-called "dry cutting" carbide blades can be used to cut various solid and hollow steels. The performance is quite amazing, much better than traditional grinding wheels. Carbide blades cut faster and produce much less sparks. They are very accurate and leave no burrs. The cut surface is also cold to the touch. To view the metal cutting carbide saw blades in use, please view my video at http://www.SteveMaxwell.ca/metal-cutting-blades 

For more than two decades, contributing editor Steve Maxwell has been helping people renovate, build and maintain their homes. "Canada's most capable person" is an award-winning home improvement authority and woodworking expert. Contact him by visiting his website and blog Maxwell's House. You can also follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook and find him on Google. 

If you have no experience, then I suggest that you only need to pay for professional services to sharpen your carbide blades. In the long run, you will ultimately save time and money because you won't mess up your blades. We tried to do it ourselves, but our results were comparable to that of a sawhouse. I recommend Saw & Specialty Corporation (sawspec.com) or Grand Saw & Machine (grandsaw.com), it is better to have multiple options, because these shops may be very busy.

This is a very good post. This is a very useful post. Since the serrations are made of cemented carbide, they can easily cut hard materials. I accepted the construction service from ERMRICH INC a few months ago. This company uses high-quality building materials, including cemented carbide saw blades, diamond saw blades and so on. I am very satisfied and benefited from its valuable services and products.

Great to share if you want any kind of hand tools. You can also buy from http://www.erniestools.com/

Great to share if you want any kind of hand tools. You can also buy from http://www.erniestools.com/

A very disappointing article, completely worthless. Your publication can be better.

I am very disappointed. The title is "Keep the carbide saw blade sharp". The article said that the blade can be sent, but my friend has a blade sharpening machine, and the author has never used it. What does this have to do with keeping the blade sharp? Unless you want to know why carbide blades are used in welding shops, this article is not worth reading. Good luck next time.

I received the new content from April/May 2011, and found in the index that additional web content is available online that can be used to sharpen the handsaw. I cannot find this information. Please tell me where I can find this. Please

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