SawStop Blades

[Ken Krawford]

I've always used a Forrest blade in my SawStop saw since I got it 6 yrs ago. The blade that came with the saw has sat on a shelf until I accidentally tripped the brake a few months ago. The SS blade seems to work well enough but wondered if the quality is good enough to justify sharpening it when the time comes. What is your opinion?

[Myles Moran]

I used the stock blade for a while with mine while waiting on the Forrest blades I wanted to get in stock and then ship. It wasn't bad like you said, but I did note during setup it wasn't nearly as flat as the Forrest blades are (marking a tooth to align the table was very important), and it definitely seemed to start dulling faster than I would expect it to. Mine now sits at the top of my blade storage rack, and I'm not sure if I'd ever put it back on the saw, especially not when I have a few Forrest blades.

[fred everett]

Like Myles, the SS blade that came with my PCS was not flat. I initially noticed chips in the teeth when removing it from the package but figured maybe I could get some mileage out of it.....unfortunately it was unusable.

[Harvey Miller]

I found the cut quality of supplied SS blade worse than my Forrest, so I reserve the SS blade for construction lumber.

[Thomas Wilson]

You do not mention which SawStop blade came with your saw. My saw came with the Titanium Series 40 tooth combination which is fine. It is flat and has no chipped teeth. I use it for most cross cuts. It leaves a smooth finished cut much the same as my premium Forrest blades. I would sharpen it but would not attempt to recover it from a brake actuation. A new one just costs $75.

[Robert Engel]

I threw the combo stock SS blade on it and have been using it for a while good at rips, "ok" at cross cuts.

No, not a Forrest, but I would say on an equal par with Freud.

That said, I probably wouldn't buy one.

[Darrell Bade]

I'd have look and see what model it is but I liked the blade that came on my ICS but that was 14 years ago, they have probably changed since then. I built all my kitchen cabinets with it plus a bunch of other stuff. I did have it sharpened a couple years ago but have not used it since.

[Dave Sabo]

Lots of jawing here about this blade and that. And how mine cuts better than yours....ect....

So, I'll answer Ken's question:

IMO - no , it's not worth re-sharpening by itself. But, I can usually find blades of similar quality for the cost of re-sharpening. It's not easy , but can be done.

Now, if I'm sending in a box of blades to be sharpened the $20 +/- it cost for that one blade might be worth it to have around as a beater.

[Charles Coolidge]

I have standardized on Ridge Carbide blades. Their 48 tooth ultra just destroyed an 80 tooth Freud in a Mahogany cross cut tear out competition. Whatever blade came with my ICS is sitting in a drawer likely never to be used.

[Jim Dwight]

I find my Freud blades to give better cuts than the blade that came with my PCS. I have it in my blade drawer and might use it someday for rough cutting. It is not terrible but I would not call it good either. I rarely have any blade sharpened and would not get the SS sharpened. I do not dull blades very fast as a hobbiest and getting one blade sharpened costs about as much as a new Freud. So I just buy another. I could gather up several and it might make economic sense to send them out but it's definitely more of a hassle than just buying another blade when I decide I "need" one.

[fred everett]

You do not mention which SawStop blade came with your saw. My saw came with the Titanium Series 40 tooth combination which is fine. It is flat and has no chipped teeth. I use it for most cross cuts. It leaves a smooth finished cut much the same as my premium Forrest blades. I would sharpen it but would not attempt to recover it from a brake actuation. A new one just costs $75.


You lucked out I guess. My PCS came with a 40 tooth combination, but not the Titanium. Mine is out so bad it hit the insert when I first started the saw....scared the crap out of me as I thought the brake had fired.

[Thomas Wilson]

You lucked out I guess. My PCS came with a 40 tooth combination, but not the Titanium. Mine is out so bad it hit the insert when I first started the saw....scared the crap out of me as I thought the brake had fired.

Yeah. I got the ICS. It may come with a different blade than the PCS. The OP did not say which model he has.

[Randy Heinemann]

I have Freud blades that I used for awhile after tripping the brake. However, I bought another Sawstop blade and put it back on in place of the Freud. I use the Sawstop blade all the time. I have never used Forrest or any high end blades, but the Sawstop blade cuts very smooth on both cross and rip cuts. On the rip cuts, it does leave some tiny saw marks once in awhile but I always joint my rips anyway and the saw marks can be removed by one pass taking 1/64" or less off. For me, the Sawstop blades do a great job and are inexpensive; especially compared to a Forrest.

[Alan Lightstone]

I used mine for a while. It now sits on my local Woodcraft on display to show what it looks like when a blade trips.

[Justin Rapp]

I tested out my PSC with the sawstop combo blade. Just to make sure it was working and if there was some defect that tripped it on the first use or so, I didn't want it taking out my Forrest blades. Was the cut ok, I guess so for the scrap would I used for some testing. I think Frued or some of the other mid-high level blades will do fine, and I have a Frued in my blade pile. However will it last as long before being sent of for sharpening, or take as many sharpenings before it's no good? That is up for debate.

The debate over blades comes up all the time, use the blade(s) that do what you need them to due, have the life you expect to get from them and are within your budget. Just remember, a good blade that lasts twice as long as a cheap blade, is cheaper in the long run, just not 'today' when you buy it.

[Harvey Miller]

I'll just add you can send your Forrest blade to them for repair cheaply. Like $40-$50 depending on the damage (don't ask why I found that out!)

[Alan Lightstone]

I'll just add you can send your Forrest blade to them for repair cheaply. Like $40-$50 depending on the damage (don't ask why I found that out!)

Tried that with one of mine. They said they couldn't repair it. Oh well.

[Jim Becker]

When you have a bad tooth or three, repair is the thing. When you bury a blade in a SawStop's block of aluminum at great force with a sudden stop, it's not just teeth that can be affected. New blade is the way to go and it's still less expensive than a "new finger", as it were, if you have an SS for the reason of additional safety.

[Dave Sabo]

I'll just add you can send your Forrest blade to them for repair cheaply. Like $40-$50 depending on the damage (don't ask why I found that out!)

Fifty bucks doesn’t sound like a cheap repair to me. Specially when the blade cost roughly double that.

[Ken Krawford]

The blade that came with my PCS is a 40 tooth combination blade.

[Harvey Miller]

When you have a bad tooth or three, repair is the thing. When you bury a blade in a SawStop's block of aluminum at great force with a sudden stop, it's not just teeth that can be affected. New blade is the way to go and it's still less expensive than a "new finger", as it were, if you have an SS for the reason of additional safety.

I won't post this answer from Tony Ferrato, the technical sales and service representative at Forrest Manufacturing Co as reported in Fine Woodworking, but I will include the link:
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2014/04/02/can-sawstopped-blades-be-repaired

[Jim Becker]

Nice to at least see the initial part of the answer...the majority is behind a paywall. I'd still be, shall we say, itchy about repairing a blade that's been "sawstopped" but it's nice to know it's deemed possible.