saw blade, blueish color after sharpening

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monkey

monkey

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
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Jun 20, 2011
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Westchester, NY
Is it normal for the tip of the carbide blades to turn a bluish color after sharpening? I always thought metal turns a blueish color when it over heats, which isn't a good thing.

I tried a new sharpening service, was assured better quality and service. I'm not so sure anymore. I noticed the blades got dull pretty quickly and a little more vibration in the blades than usual.
 
Just for abundant clarity, I'm assuming you removed the waxy protection, which is often either red or blue.... ;)
 
Artrageous said:
Is the blueish color at the contact point where the tooth is brazed onto the plate, or on the tooth itself?
Click to expand...

It is definately blue at the contact point where the tooth is brazed onto the plate. It's hard to tell if the tooth itself is discolored, maybe slightly.
 
It's possible a tooth was broken or chipped and the company had to braze on a new tip. That could account for a discoloration at the brazing point. It could also be from a poor brazing job.

Contact the blade guy before you try the blades. Having a tooth fly off a spinning saw blade during cutting can have serious consequences.
 
Artrageous said:
It's possible a tooth was broken or chipped and the company had to braze on a new tip. That could account for a discoloration at the brazing point. It could also be from a poor brazing job.

Contact the blade guy before you try the blades. Having a tooth fly off a spinning saw blade during cutting can have serious consequences.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's from brazing on a new tip, because it's on every single tooth and every blade. That's alot of brazing.

Come to think of it, I do remember him telling me that they grinded all 3 sides of the carbide, and that the previous sharpener only grinded the top.
 
Someone has to say it, so I will...


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monkey said:
I don't think it's from brazing on a new tip, because it's on every single tooth and every blade. That's alot of brazing.

Come to think of it, I do remember him telling me that they grinded all 3 sides of the carbide, and that the previous sharpener only grinded the top.
Click to expand...

Monkey,

When we sharpen carbide tipped saw blades, we grind only the face of the tooth and the top of the tooth. If we replace a tip, then we side grind that tip to match the rest of the teeth in the blade.
Now sometimes we do a funtion called backing off. That refers to grinding the shoulder of the blade which is behind the tip. As a blade gets sharpened the tip gets smaller and smaller to the point where the tip and shoulder of the blade are at the same height.
We will grind the shoulder of the blade to allow clearance behind the carbide tooth, so when we sharpen the saw blade we only grind the carbide and not the steel.
This may result in a blueing of the steel but should not be a factor in the performance of the blade.
 
triplechip,
thanks for the detailed explaination of your sharpening process.

Bogframe,
here's a pic
 

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I would be looking for a new sharpening service if what I think I'm seeing is really what I'm seeing. That and you need to start thinking about new blades. Check into Triplechip's sharpening service at Quinn_Saw. You won't be disappointed. I have yet to purchase blades from Quinn, but those that have speak highly of their product. (Hint to BillZ: secret code "V").
 
Monkey,

My opinion is that the blade was probably sharpened without using coolant while grinding. A lot of shops still do it this way, and for the most part it does a good enough job.

Appearance goes a long way at my shop, we ultrasonically clean each blade, inspect for any tip damage, sand blast the rim of the saw and then polish every blade. Then it goes to the CNC robotic loading grinding machine.
Give us a try next time your blades are in need of sharpening.

For those reading this thread I am going to sharpen 2 carbide tipped saw blades during the month of August at NO CHARGE you pay for shipping and I'll do the rest.

You need to put a note inside the box "DIGGERS SPECIAL" Dont tell anybody else Grumblers only :D

Thanks, Bill
 
Monkey, to say that the blade looks unprofessionally sharpened would be an understatement.

I wonder if your sharpener would care to join in and address what we now see.

When I get my blades back from Quality Saw and Knife, they look like brand new blades.
 
triplechip said:
Monkey,

My opinion is that the blade was probably sharpened without using coolant while grinding. A lot of shops still do it this way, and for the most part it does a good enough job.

Appearance goes a long way at my shop, we ultrasonically clean each blade, inspect for any tip damage, sand blast the rim of the saw and then polish every blade. Then it goes to the CNC robotic loading grinding machine.
Give us a try next time your blades are in need of sharpening.

For those reading this thread I am going to sharpen 2 carbide tipped saw blades during the month of August at NO CHARGE you pay for shipping and I'll do the rest.

You need to put a note inside the box "DIGGERS SPECIAL" Dont tell anybody else Grumblers only :D

Thanks, Bill
Click to expand...


Great post, and very generous offer Bill!

Look for a Diggers Special from me soon!

Thanks,
Chris
 
W.D. Quinn Saw Co. is AWESOME

Thanks for the recommendation my fellow Grumblers.

Since this post I've been meaning to send my blades in for sharpening but kept putting it off due to the Chistmas rush and other things poping up. Next thing I know I was down to my last set and was in desperate need of sharpening. So I contacted Bill and he said no prob. I sent them 8 blades and they cleaned, inspected, and sharpened all 8 blades in one day. FedEX email notified me that my blades were delived and later that day Quinn Saw called me for payment and that my blades was shipping out that day, I was impressed.

I put the first set in a few days ago and they cut like a hot knife through butter. Huge difference compared to the previous local sharpener I was using. The blades cut quieter and less vibration, it like they fixed my blades. If the other 6 blades cut like this set I put in I got myself a new sharpener.

They also individually pack my blades in their own boxes.

THANKS Bill
 
Discolored Tips

I agree those look like they were sharpened without coolant. The temper on the steel looks compromised. Now the main problem with that blade is to keep an eye on the teeth. Over heated blades can sometimes loose their teeth because the brazing got too hot.

A separate thing to consider. I had a problem with a sharpener blackening just the carbide portion of the blades. I was worried the temper was ruined like when you overheat a knife blade. When I complained they said it does not affect the carbide what so ever. I was skeptical, so I asked around and found out that since carbide has different properties than steel the blackening shouldn't affect the life of the carbide. Although, it was still a poor sharpening job at least my blade wasn't permanently damaged.

I've gotten blades back from sharpeners that have dropped teeth, been warped, and not even sharpened!

It goes to show why some blade manufactures wont honor their warranties unless they sharpen the blades themselves.
 
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