Chopper Blades ...

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Dave

Dave

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Joined
Jun 11, 2004
Posts
13,355
Loc
Edwardsburg, MI
I am on my last sharp set of chopper blades and have four sets needing to be sent in for sharpening. In the past I'd always sent them to Chas. Mueller & Sons in Mt. Clemens, MI.

I just reviewed this informative and lengthy post.

http://www.thegrumble.com/showthread.php?t=4765&highlight=Sharpening+Chopper+Blades

There was a link that doesn't appear to work any more that discussed hollow ground vs.flat ground.

My questions ...

How do I tell if they are hollow ground or flat ground?

If they are flat ground is it really worth the extra $$$ to convert to hollow ground?

:shrug:

 
Dave, you're in a position of rare opportunity, you can send one off to still be flat ground..[lay a straight edge across the grind... if there is no light... flat, if there is a "cat-eye" of light, Hollow ground], and one to be hollow ground... keep records of each and every chop... till dull... with each set, then report back.
 
Here's the website for Tech Mark which contains some useful info.

http://www.tech-mark.com/morsochopperinfo.htm

It appears that my blades are flat ground.

I think I'll bite the bullet and and send two pair in to Tech Mark for hollow ground sharpening. I'd love to do the test Baer suggested, but think I'll just go for the hollow ground as Morso suggests. My volume on the chopper is such that it would be at least a year before I'd report back.

Three of my blade sets are genuine Morso and two are generics.

The wood boxes are sexy looking and I think I'll order those too. My styro boxes are looking ratty.

Any other input is appreciated.
 
Dave, it said page not found. Take out the "IT". http://www.tech-mark.com/morsochopperinfo.htm

I have two sets of blades that are both morso, one set always dulls before the other. In like twice as fast. I'm not sure if that means anything but its something I noticed and I'm sure that not all blades are the same.

I know I sound like a broken record but I suspect that there are guys that can do this about ever 20 miles on center across the US. There are some serious benifits to finding somebody local also.

I also need to price blades right now. Where would you buy generic blades?

Carry on.
 
It's Tech Mark for me.

This message is on a postcard sent by Techmark, advising of the sharpening charge increase ($27):

Why hollow-grinding is the best choice for your guillotine blades...
-Maximizes the life of your blades.
-Extends the life of your sharpening.
-Significantly reduces the number of bad cuts and the need for filler.

Dave, the wooden shipping box is well worth it!
Just so ya know, they sharpen on Mondays and Wednesdays and usually ship back to you the day they're sharpened.
 
While all of those points may well be true, they are still circumstantial

Other things to consder would be
Cost
Turnaround
Convienance

Even if you insist on hollow grinding them, that company isn't the only one that knows how to do that.

I know I know, the grass is always greener, but the guy I take em to charges more for hollowgrinding (which I opted out of) becuase it uses the edge of his grinder wearing it out faster. He charges double in fact. THat means it would be $10 a set but he can still do them in 1/2 hour. Oh and he wouldn't charge more the first time as long as I always did them that way. This is just an example and I know Techmark has been around a long time. I have nothing against them but as I read that thread about "who do you support" it bothers me when we pay through the nose to have some people clear across the globe to a job that the guy across town might be more than glad to do for a fraction of the cost. Its worth considering anyway and yet few do.
 
Jay ...There's a local sharpening place here too that a friend of mine works at. I asked him if he could sharpen my chopper blades and he said "Sure ...we can sharpen anything". I asked him if they do hollow ground and he said "Sure". Now, as much as I want to support a local biz, I am sure he has never seen a set of Morso blades.

Tech Mark is a distributor for Morso. They do them all the time. I guess I'm just not comfortable having my local guy touch them as if they screwed up then I'd not only have damaged blades, but I'd also have down time which isn't worth it.

I'm going to take one set of blades to him and have him do them. I have that luxury because I have five sets. If they appear to be as well sharpened I'll use him in the future, but I don't want to chance it now that my last set is in the chopper.
 
Jay, I did look locally for a sharpener first. Several places. The reactions I got were:
1) What's a guillotine?
2) I only do kitchen cutlery, blades like those would ruin my sharpener.
3) Why would a frame shop need anything sharpened?
4) Have your husband bring them in and explain to us what you're talking about.

I tried.

It's still TechMark for me. Without my blades properly sharpened, I have no frame shop.
If I need fast turnaround, I send them overnight, they send them back overnight. 2 days if needed. Which I rarely do, as I send in the blades coming off the chopper the day (usually) the new ones go on.
 
I am wondering how many frames people tend to get before they need to sharpen their blades?

I also need a second set and am wondering where the best place to get them might be. I have a Pistorus chopper. :)
 
Jay,
Personal observation.
I've been using a chopper since 1973...a Jyden that had 3 sets of blades we bought used. We used a local sharpening service until the second generation came along and lost the skill set necessary to sharpen these blades. Went through several local sharpening businesses...ones recommended by cabinet shops and other framers only to have 2 sets of the original knives ruined.
In need of replacement I have purchased 2 sets of generic blades...one Japanese, and the other from the former Yugoslavia...both sets were worth throwing away. They dulled very easily and ended up distorting from use...nothing quite like the original Danish steel.

What you claim may be true in some fields...generic parts and service being interchangeable with original, but my experience with chopper blades doesn't support that theory. I will stick with name brand, and their sharpening service.

Note: Tech Mark will only sharpen name brand blades...says the generic ones are so soft that the steel gums up their machinery.
 
Like I said, I'm sure this is a freaky arrangment I have here.

Val, how many times have you thought, "Why didn't they just bring it in" when being asked if you could frame something? I'll be a good number of those places would have said "Oh that...heck we do that all the time..."

Yes Dave I see now. The guy was familour with gillotine blades and was also familour with hollow grinding. Obviouslly he was unqualified.

I could be oversimplyfing this but these are metal blades...this isn't some exotic piece of space shuttle equipment. At least mine don't say NASA on the side.

It may be the case Wally. I wasn't sold on anything just wondering about generics. How did they ruin the blades. I just can't fathom that!
 
Val said:
Jay, I did look locally for a sharpener first. Several places. The reactions I got were:
1) What's a guillotine?
2) I only do kitchen cutlery, blades like those would ruin my sharpener.
3) Why would a frame shop need anything sharpened?
4) Have your husband bring them in and explain to us what you're talking about.

I tried.

It's still TechMark for me. Without my blades properly sharpened, I have no frame shop.
If I need fast turnaround, I send them overnight, they send them back overnight. 2 days if needed. Which I rarely do, as I send in the blades coming off the chopper the day (usually) the new ones go on.
Click to expand...
You should have told him you need the blades hollow ground because your husband messed them up when he accidentally got his head caught in the guillotine!
 
generic blades

For anyone who might be interested. I have a set of "generic" blades that I bought from Victor Moulding years ago. I used them until they got dull, had them sharpened locally (flat ground), and never used them again. $125 and their yours.

Daniel F
 
Send them to TechMark, the US importer of Morso. They will do them right, guaranteed.

Note: if they are not Morso brand, or have not been hollow ground, there will be an extra charge but it will be worth every penny.
__________________
-dnw-

David N Waldmann
Vice President
Vermont Hardwoods
Click to expand...

I've tried many places over 35 years and most never cut like a new blade. When I sent my blades to http://tech-mark.com they cut like a new set. I've never sent them anywhere else after trying them. I rate them a 10 out of 10, 1st rate company.

framer
 
I agree with the quality of Tech-Mark's products, knowledge, and service. My only question is why is return shipping cost almost 2x what it costs to ship them there? I would think that they would get better rates becuase they are a constant, regular shipper. Besides, the blades actually weigh a little bit less on the way back.
:shrug: Rick
 
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