Is Your Saw Blade Dull? Find Out How to Tell

1. Common manifestations of dull saw blades
Reduced cutting efficiency
When cutting materials, if you find that the saw blade takes more time and effort than before to complete the cutting task, this may be a sign that the saw blade has become dull. For example, a saw blade that could easily saw through a small piece of wood in a few seconds now takes more than ten seconds or even longer, and the operator can clearly feel the increased resistance when pushing the saw blade. This is because the cutting edge of a dull saw blade is no longer sharp and cannot cut into the material as quickly and effectively as when it was sharp, resulting in a significant reduction in cutting efficiency.
Poor quality of the cut surface
When the saw blade becomes dull, the surface of the cut material becomes rough. For example, when cutting wood, the surface of the wood cut by a sharp saw blade is relatively smooth, while the surface of the wood cut by a dull saw blade may have burrs, tears or unevenness. This is because the dull saw blade does not cut the material fibers cleanly during the cutting process, but drags and squeezes, which affects the quality of the cut surface.
Produces abnormal noise and vibration
Under normal circumstances, a sharp saw blade will produce a relatively stable sound and less vibration when cutting. However, if the saw blade becomes dull, it may make a harsh noise during the cutting process, and the saw blade will produce greater vibration. This is because the dull saw blade cannot cut into the material smoothly during cutting, and will produce irregular friction and collision with the material, resulting in increased noise and vibration.
2. Judging whether the saw blade is dull from its own characteristics
Appearance of the blade
Look carefully at the blade edge. If the blade edge no longer looks sharp, is worn, notched, or becomes rounded, then it is likely that the saw blade has become dull. For example, the blade edge of a new saw blade is sharp, and after using it for a period of time, if the blade edge has a slight chipping or does not look sharp as a whole, it indicates that the saw blade's cutting ability has decreased.
Saw blade color change
In some cases, the dulling of the saw blade may be accompanied by a change in color. If the saw blade generates high temperature due to excessive friction during use, it may cause the surface color of the saw blade to change. For example, some saw blades may become somewhat darker or show signs of oxidation from their original metallic color, which may also be a sign of dulling of the saw blade.
3. Special judgment methods for different types of saw blades becoming blunt
Carbide saw blades
For carbide saw blades, in addition to the general judgment methods mentioned above, you can also pay attention to the degree of wear of the cutting edge. Due to the high hardness of carbide, when the cutting edge begins to wear, the cutting edge may crack or widen. Moreover, after the carbide saw blade becomes blunt, it may have a greater impact on the surface hardness of the processed material, resulting in uneven surface hardness of the processed material.
Circular saw blades
If the circular saw blade becomes blunt, in addition to changes in cutting efficiency and other aspects, you can also check the flatness of its circumference. Because during the blunting process of the circular saw blade, the circumference may no longer be flat due to uneven wear. This will further affect the stability of the cutting, and the saw blade may be biased to one side during cutting, making the width of the cut material uneven.