I have a few circular saw blades of different manufacturers. There is a local place who will sharpen them at .35 cents a teeth for carbide and a straight $10 fee for steel.
Two blades are Delta steel 30 and 60 tooth which would cost $20 for both.
Three are carbide. One a Ridgid 40 tooth ($14 total), Oldham 60 tooth ($21 total) and Irwin 60 tooth ($21 total) for a total cost of $56.
Add that to the $20 the total is $76 complete for 5 blades.
Obviously, that's cheaper than even one new blade of a quality brand such as Freud, but how long does an average blade last?
Buy new. IME, none of the blades you mention are likely worth sharpening, over buying new.
Basically, the more expensive/higher the quality of the blade, like Forrest or Frued, the longer between sharpening, as the quality of blade is directly proportional to its ability to maintain a sharp edge with use.
I wouldn't bother with the steel blades unless they had some special use that you want. I believe Oldham is no longer a separate company (bought by B&D/DeWalt IIRC) but I used some of their blades years ago and they were of pretty good quality. I'm not familiar with Ridgid's blade quality or Irwins, though I've heard that the Irwins are more of a utility/construction grade than ww. Why not try the sharpening service out on just 1 or 2 of them and check the results? I'd suggest the Oldham and whichever was the best when new between the Ridgid and the Irwin.
After thinking about it, I think the Ridgid is still in good shape. It came with my miter saw (Ridgid, of course) but I removed it for a 60 tooth blade because I wanted finer cuts.
The steel ones unless they are ply blades are not worth sharpening. I still use a steel ply blade in my circ saw at times. I find it useful at times. I also find them great when I use them in reverse for cutting aluminum siding..
If the plates are straight it probably is worth it for the carbides.
I sharpen all my carbide blades that have good carbide, and still holding their own. They never seem to last as long as new ones though. John
I have a few circular saw blades of different manufacturers. There is a local place who will sharpen them at .35 cents a teeth for carbide and a straight $10 fee for steel.
Two blades are Delta steel 30 and 60 tooth which would cost $20 for both.
Three are carbide. One a Ridgid 40 tooth ($14 total), Oldham 60 tooth ($21 total) and Irwin 60 tooth ($21 total) for a total cost of $56.
Add that to the $20 the total is $76 complete for 5 blades.
Obviously, that's cheaper than even one new blade of a quality brand such as Freud, but how long does an average blade last?
Both. I'd buy a good combination blade from Ridge Carbide, Forrest, Infinity, etc. They will give you the great cuts you want.
I'd also sharpen one or two of the carbide blades to use when I had questionable material or ripping a pressure treated board where finish is not so critical. Cheap insurance for $14.
My 12" DeWalt miter saw came with a mediocre blade. I lent the saw to someone to cut laminate flooring knowing the blade would be trashed and it was. I sent it to Ridge Carbide for sharpening and it came back better than new.
--------------------------------------------------------- IMHO, none of the above have enough built in quality to be worth the sharpening cost; however, I'd probably sharpen the Ridgid and keep it around as a "trash" blade to cut garbage lumber.
The rest of the blades get converted into clocks or just scrap metal.
I'd then shop around for a quality set of blades (24T, 50T, 80T) on sale which will cover at least 90% - 95% of your needs.
I had a set from Freud which served me well but there are others.
I would forget about the steel blades unless they have some unique characteristic. You didn't mention tooth type but the 30 tooth might be a flat tooth rip. In that case, I might keep it - flat grind seems to be getting hard to find - but I'd sharpen it myself, not that hard.
Among the carbide, you have 1-40 tooth, 2-60 tooth. Why would you need two
60 tooth blades? For that matter, why do you need one? I use a 30 tooth flat on my table saw for ripping, occasional cross cutting, a 40 tooth alternate top bevel on my radial for crosscutting; I've never felt the need for others.
Mostly to add what most every one else has said, put the money towards a very good blade.
There are other good choices however I do quite a bit of woodworking, not full time but maybe 2/3's full time.
I bought a Forrest WWII 40 tooth regular kerf blade 14 years ago. I still use it on a daily basis. I have two actually, I simply swap them out ever few years when the other goes in to be resharpened. OK, I have three. ;~) The third has a flat grind for cutting flat bottom groves for draw bottoms.
The big advantage to the premium blades and especially Forrest is that they use better materials so they stay sharper longer, it is not unusual for me to use a blade a couple of years before sending it back to Forrest to be resharpened. Additionally the better blades use larger pieces of carbide for the teeth. This equates to being able to have that blade resharpened 8~12 times during it's life span. Additionally the better blades will spin more true with less wobble.
Now some will argue that you need more than one blade for cross cutting and ripping. I in the last 25 or so years have not found that to be necessary. The WWII handles all of my cutting needs except for cutting wide dado's, so I'm not having to swap between a cross cut and a rip blade several times a day.
And lastly, if you want a good quality cut resist temptation and steer clear of thin kerf blades. They do cut faster on marginal HP saws however a good quality regular kerf blade will cut just fine on a marginal HP saw also but with less flex. I use to have a 1 HP Craftsman TS that did better with a quality regular kerf blade than a less expensive think kerf blade.
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