Re: Sharpening japanese style
Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2014 1:04 am
Hi Timateo, glad to hear you like the series
If the saw is old enough, it may be just fine. As Chris says, the teeth are very hard and brittle, but this is just a surface thing. What they do is to send and electric impulse that heats the metal because of it's resistance to the electric current. But electric conduction happens on the surface of the metal only, so as the teeth wear, the hard surface wears away and just the soft core - no pun intended- remains.
Or at least that's my theory. I only have sharpened a Z-Saw H-150 Dozuki ultra-fine crosscut saw, and I used both a small diamond triangular file and a normal one. The normal one worked perfectly wherever the blue colour of the teeth had wore off. It was a very old blade, so there was a lot of wear. (It was used on a violin shop, so it cuts mostly ebony.) I think the z-saw have a tooth by tooth hardening method that may be different for other brands.
I have this ongoing discussion with a friend, he insists you need a diamond file to sharpen disposable blades and I that you don't. It all comes down to how far the hardening goes into the metal, but I haven't been able to find that info anywhere. It would be great to hear your experience. Take a look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUoPXDzyJ7Q
That looks like a disposable blade and a normal file to me... I'm really curious to hear other people's experiences.
If the teeth were too hard to file, maybe try "cleaning" them with sandpaper or a fine diamond file first. Then sharpening.
So I'd say give it a try and tell us how it went. Worst case you will get some practice. Then get a real saw, they are cheaper than the disposable ones and the steel is much nicer, softer and with a more defined structure (or so it seems to me).
If the saw is old enough, it may be just fine. As Chris says, the teeth are very hard and brittle, but this is just a surface thing. What they do is to send and electric impulse that heats the metal because of it's resistance to the electric current. But electric conduction happens on the surface of the metal only, so as the teeth wear, the hard surface wears away and just the soft core - no pun intended- remains.
Or at least that's my theory. I only have sharpened a Z-Saw H-150 Dozuki ultra-fine crosscut saw, and I used both a small diamond triangular file and a normal one. The normal one worked perfectly wherever the blue colour of the teeth had wore off. It was a very old blade, so there was a lot of wear. (It was used on a violin shop, so it cuts mostly ebony.) I think the z-saw have a tooth by tooth hardening method that may be different for other brands.
I have this ongoing discussion with a friend, he insists you need a diamond file to sharpen disposable blades and I that you don't. It all comes down to how far the hardening goes into the metal, but I haven't been able to find that info anywhere. It would be great to hear your experience. Take a look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUoPXDzyJ7Q
That looks like a disposable blade and a normal file to me... I'm really curious to hear other people's experiences.
If the teeth were too hard to file, maybe try "cleaning" them with sandpaper or a fine diamond file first. Then sharpening.
So I'd say give it a try and tell us how it went. Worst case you will get some practice. Then get a real saw, they are cheaper than the disposable ones and the steel is much nicer, softer and with a more defined structure (or so it seems to me).