Sharpen or Replace?

[Larry Leigh]

Hello. I have a 6in. jointer and one of the knives has two visable knicks in them. what I was wondering is, can I sharpen these with a file, or do you have to send them to a machine shop, or is it best (cheaper) just to replace them. Thanks Larry

[Charlie Hans]

Larry you will have to send them out for sharpening, you won't be able to file the nicks out of your blades. You might consider getting another new set and then you will always have a back up while the other set
is out for sharpening. Charlie

[Larry Leigh]

Thanks Charlie, Hope tey don't chrge to much to sharpen blades.

[Thomas Canfield]

Larry,

A second set of blades is handy to have on hand when one set is being sent out. I don't know what service you can get. A helpful hint given to me was to move the blades slightly so the knicks are not in line if the knicks are small. You can then have 2 of 3 blades cutting and get a respectable cut until you made the change. Otherwise, you need to remove the ridge after each pass with a plane or similar. ( I hate to admit that I am still running knicked blades).

[Mike Cutler]

Larry,

( I hate to admit that I am still running knicked blades).

I think there are a lot more folks than you that would not want to admit it..... Like Me too.:eek: I gotta work on the planer and jointer this winter. Both need a little TLC.
To the OP. You may want to look into diposable blade systems, or self aligning systems if you are going to go to the trouble of replacing the blades. For me changing blades on a planer or jointer is sort of like playing with a Rubics cube, or a chinese wooden puzzle. I get there eventually.:rolleyes: