How To Sharpen A Hand Saw Blade: Easy Steps To Sharpen A Hand Saw

Have you ever experienced when you are in the middle of doing your project, and then when you are about to cut something, you noticed that your saw is not sharp enough? It would be nice if you can sharpen your saw to avoid those experiences again. The question is, do you know how to sharpen a hand saw blade?

A good hand saw can be passed from one generation to another when you know how to treat them properly. One important way to properly treat the hand is to store them correctly. It would be best to keep them where the blade is protected and located in a not too damp place. It is also essential that you know at least some necessary steps to sharpen a hand saw blade.

Tips to Sharpen a Hand Saw Blade

If you have an excellent hand saw and you want it to maintain as is, you should at least learn the necessary information on how to sharpen a hand saw blade. These tips might help you in sharpening the edge of your favorite hand saw.

First is you should prepare all the materials you need in sharpening the hand saw blade. You will need a saw set for resetting the teeth and a tapered file or two. These two come in different sizes, so you have to identify the number of teeth per inch of your saw. Make sure to use a set and file that is appropriate for it.

Next is to make sure to check the saw. If you see that it has rust around it, remove it from the saw blade using a wire brush or sandpaper. Check if the teeth of the hand saw blade are all at the same height. If you see that the height of the teeth is not equal, you need to do jointing. Clamp the saw in a vise and hold the saw rigid spine using wood blocks as a backboard. File the teeth until they become uniform in height. 

Steps on Sharpening a Hand Saw Blade

Choose the right size files and determine the type of saw that you will be sharpening. Once you have chosen, you are ready to proceed with how to sharpen a hand saw blade. These are the steps to sharpen your hand saw blade rip cut teeth using files.

Secure the saw blade

First, you have to clamp the saw blade in a vice with the teeth pointing upwards. Remember to use a file block. You should also make sure that the teeth are as low as they can be and not blocked by the vice's edge. It is good to reduce unwanted vibrations in the saw blade while you are filing.

Smooth out the teeth

Run the mill file across the top of the teeth of the hand saw blade. Make sure to apply light pressure while doing it. It will create a series of flat spots that will shine once the light hits them. Once you are done, all of the spots should be in the same size.

Sharpening

Here are the steps on how to sharpen a hand saw blade:

• Switch over your taper saw file.
• Use your dominant hand.
• Hold the grip with your finger angled towards the point of the file.
• Grip the point of the file using the thumb and forefinger of your non-dominant hand. 
• Use two strokes of the file in the space between each of the teeth. It will give you consistent and neat teeth.  
• Keep the file level when you are filing and ensure that the file is level with the saw blade. 
• Ask some to watch the saw end if they can see a perfect T shape. 
• Finish sharpening the hand saw blade by filing the teeth's back if any of them still has a wide flat spot on the top. Make sure the teeth become pointed and sharp. 

Conclusion 

Knowing the steps on how to sharpen a hand saw blade is timesaving, convenient, and money-saving. Once you are done with the sharpening and the filing step, you should not forget some maintenance before storing it. It is essential to know at least some basic steps on how to sharpen a hand saw blade since you don't know when you need to sharpen your blades, and it also helps you from messing up with your project's deadline. In case you are strapped for cash, you can consider sharpening your blade by yourself instead of buying a cheap or poor quality hand saw blade.

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