Best Saw Blades

What brand of saw blades do you find to be the best? I’m not happy
with the ones I’ve been using which seem to have an occasional
malformed tooth among other irregularities.

Beth

I personally prefer the Lazer Gold blades from Rio (usual
disclaimer). I buy in bulk and would love to know how others store
their blades to prevent rusting. Just a little spot of corrosion can
make a blade hang and jitter, and a gross of blades lasts me about a
year…long enought where this can become a problem over time.
Currently, I’m using plastic tubes with air-tight stoppers. I add a
few drops of fine machine oil, and this has been an improvement over
my previous zip-lock storage.

Walk in Beauty,
Susannah Ravenswing
Jewels of the Spirit
Winston-Salem, NC
@Lumenea

Beth,

I started out using Hercules brand saw blades and had used them for
many years before opening my own business. I’ve always found them to
be of consistent quality. However, once I started paying for my own
blades I decided that I’d try some of the other brands, mostly
because they were less expensive, but they usually advertised some
other benefit like being more flexible etc. I usually buy a gross at
a time to get a little discount and found that I’d end up breaking a
lot of blades getting used to them. I’d also curse and swear a lot.
By the time I’d used up the last of that order, I’d find that the
average life of a blade was pretty much the same and the breakage
rate was similar (once you discount the initial break-in period). So,
I always have gone back to the Hercules brand. Are they the best? I
don’t know, but I do think there’s something to the strategy of going
with the devil you know instead of the devil you don’t. I put burs in
then same category, too.

After working with sawblades for decades, you might think that I
would have had the time and resources to become a sawblade
connoisseur, but, sadly, no.

Larry

Beth,

I’ve tried four or five different brands and have consistently
preferred Rio Grande’s Laser Gold sawblades. They’re very well made
and quite flexible, and the nicely finished rounded backs make them
easy to turn in a tight corner. Plus, something about the
bronze-colored finish of the blade seems to prevent corrosion and
also makes the blade stand out against the lines of your pattern.
They’re so durable that most of my blades “die” of old age–they
actually get dull (after long usage) before they break, and even the
8/o last a good long time.

Usual disclaimers: I don’t work for Rio Grande, own stock, etc. I
just like their sawblades!

Happy piercing,
Jessee Smith
www.silverspotstudio.com

I have purchased saw blades from just two sources, namely Swest and
Rio. The Rio Laser Gold blades quickly became my choice because of
excellent performance in a project that provided a demanding test. I
used to make 15 different salt water fish earrings. these ranged in
size from 1" X 1 and 5/16" to 1 and 9/16" X 2 and 1/4". Most of the
fish were done in sufficient detail for a person knowledgeable of
salt water fish to be able to name specific species. For example, a
Forceps Butterflyfish rather than simply a “Butterflyfish” or an
Atlantic Spadefish instead of just a “Spadefish”, etc. Three pairs
were cut out at a time by stacking six pieces of 26 ga sterling using
shellac to hold the stack together. A label was put on the top piece
and the fish outline was drawn on the label using a very sharp
drafting pencil and a brass silhouette. The fish were sawed out using
an 8/0 blade usually in one sitting. Many of the fish had complex
dorsal fins which required the execution of several successive 170 to
nearly 180 degree turns. The dorsal fin area provided the perfect
place to practice breaking blades! It did not take very long until
there were very few saw blades broken when using the Rio Laser Gold.
One blade was usually good for one and a half to two stacks before it
was time to replace it.

Gold earrings were cut out one pair at a time using 28 ga metal. At
last count a total of 331 pairs of these earrings were made in
sterling alone. I have not felt the need to investigate other saw
blade brands or makes. Are there any out there that will do three
stacks, or four stacks?

The usual disclaimer. Just a very satisfied Rio customer since
1986.

Captain Blood
"Marlinespike Seamanship in Precious Metals"
@Alden_Glenda_Blood

I also buy my Rio golden laser saw blades by the gross, I just use
the tubes my tossed out Hercules blades came in, I think your
stoppered plastic tube idea is fine, I’m not sure about the oil
though, I once worked with an old German fellow who kept his saw
blades wrapped in an oiled felt pouch different color pouch for
different size blades, I didn’t like havung to mess with the lint.

In Light
Kenneth Ferrell