Any opinions on Forrest blades or their sharpening service?
I've had blades sharpened locally but they never seem to be the same
afterwards - seem to get pitch buildup quicker and never seem to be quite
as good as they were new.
TIA.
I send my Woodworker II out to Forrest every now and then to have them
sharpen it and it always comes back good as new, seems to stay sharp as
well.....my experience with them has been a good one.
Frank
Get a new service.
Pitch build up has nothing to do with sharpening.
BTW I have switched to a Ridge Carbide blade for the time being. Very Good
blade.
Dave
Who is Ridge?
I've got a WW2 blade that I sent to Forrest for sharpening a long long
time ago. They said it needed to be trued, so I told 'em to go ahead
with that, but when it came back it wouldn't cut a smooth surface. So
I just set it aside after 1 cut and went back to my Delta combination
blade which *does* cut a smooth swirl free surface. And is sharpened
locally on occasion.
I'm hoping Forrest hasn't gone in the dumper since I just took a
chance on one of their chopmaster blades for my DW705. Intial cuts
look excellent but the truth won't be known until it one day needs
sharpening.
I had a similar problem with a new WWII. I was irritated that it didn't cut
as well as my well used Delta combination blade and was about to send it
back. I then came upon a used TS Aligner Jr and set up my saw correctly,
put the WWII back on and couldn't believe the improvement in cut quality
which greatly exceeded the Delta blade. The tight manufacturing tolerances
of the WWII doesn't allow for faulty saw set-up, at least in my limited
experience.
Gary
In my case, yes, it is my fault for not bringing it to their
attention. Mea Culpa.
However, I find that shipping is pretty expensive and inconvenient.
Especially since they require that I pay *both* ways. And their
sharpening costs more than the local guy. Plus, the less than
sterling results suggested that dealing with them for resharpening
might be a waste of time.
However, that they didn't do a good job with resharpening and doing
the flattening they said it needed meant that I haven't spent any more
money with them until this past Saturday. Who's losing out there?
BTW, the WW2 did an excellent job on my saw for quite a while. With
the stiffener they recommend. Right up to the point of dullness.
That was pretty interesting. It cut great, right up to the end, then
it wouldn't hardly cut at all. When it came back it does cut easily,
it just leaves that swirly surface.
This is just my experience. Other people experiences are different.
Take this with a grain of salt.
The problem may be that your local service does not straighten or flatten
blades. I use Forrest but also ask them to bring the blade back to factory
specs. Simply resharpening some times does not result in a good clean cut.
HomeOwnersHub.com is a website for homeowners and building and maintenance pros. It is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.