When's a Reciprocating Saw Blade Worn Out?

[Jimmy]

When you can't see the saw through the smoke.

[William.Deans]

Greetings,

a) new blades from Harbor Freight are (were?) < $1 in a multi-pack on sale b) if you find yourself cutting a lot of 6" limbs consider a chainsaw

Hope this helps, William

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

Hmmm. You&#39;ve gotten 2 years out of one blade? Just replace it. No point worrying about whether it&#39;s sharp or not honestly. If it&#39;s not cutting as well as it should, get a new one. Cheers, cc

[Todd H.]

Mine let me know it was worn out by breaking. But, it sounds like yours is ripe for replacement. They&#39;re cheap.

-- Todd H.

[nicksanspam]

Maybe the shrub was pinching the blade.

Nick

[Ken Hall]

How do you tell when a Sawzall blade is worn out? I have a blade I&#39;ve been using in my Sawzall for a couple of years to cut tree limbs. It has probably cut 50-75 3-5 inch Magnolia tree limbs. Today I was trying to cut a shrub with a base of about 6". The cut went v-e-r-r-r-r-r-y slowly and it smoked while cutting this green wood. But, it still looks and feels as sharp as a brand new blade with the same tooth count.

Ken

[Edwin Pawlowski]

That&#39;s one way to tell.

What looks and feels to your finger does not count. For comparison sake, cut your left toe off with the old blade. Now replace the blade and cut your right toe off. See how much smoother it went?

[Art Todesco]

[Fred]

I could tell when my blades are gone when its smoking, when the teeth are rounded out and it doesn&#39;t bite into the wood anymore. If your teeth are as sharp as a new blade then it sounds like its still good unless the blade has lost its temper from over heating. I don&#39;t think 75 3-5 inch limbs are unreasonable for a good quality bi-metal blade when you keep a low cutting speed. But who has time for that anyway so I ware out blades more often? If a new blade doesn&#39;t make a difference then its time to take out the chain saw.

Get the Corona 37" super lopper for up to 3" limbs then chain saw anything larger. Sawzall just too slow.

[idontell]

Pull out your dick as if you were going to take a piss. Hold the blade against your dick and start the saw. If your dick falls off, the blade is still good. If not, buy a new blade.

[Ken Hall]

I do that.

Sounds like mine -- maybe 4-5 teeth per inch, but maybe mine&#39;s a 6" blade -- that&#39;s 6 inches of teeth.

Ken

[Ken Hall]

Somehow I think it&#39;s the milage rather than the age.

Ken

[Ken Hall]

It&#39;s not billowing smoke, only wisps.

Ken

[Ken Hall]

And you&#39;re here because?

Ken

[Red Cloud®]

Now you know how to tell when a Sawzall blade is worn out!

rusty redcloud

[Jeff Wisnia]

The teeth may feel and be sharp, but I bet most of the "set" has disappeared because of wearing off on the sides of the teeth.

Without a reasonable amount of set, so the slot cut is a bit wider than the base thickness of the blade, it&#39;ll bind.

Loke otheres have politely and not so politely told you, try a new blade. If it cuts better you have your answer.

Jeff

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Hey, I answered your question didn&#39;t I? If you weren&#39;t such a cheap prick you&#39;d have a spare blade or three anyway.

[Ken Hall]

Oh, and I though it was because you were a sicko who&#39;s only life was roaming newsgroups getting a twisted ego boost from putting people down.

Ken

[Ed2]

"Ken Hall" wrote

Are you for real? If you can&#39;t tell, you have no business having a saw in your hands.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Nah, my full time job is to piss off people like you. I get paid to do this. Really.