Can anybody recomend some good quality saw blades, i use mostly size
4/0 and 8/0. I have tried cheap ones and brand name ones (i can’t
remember the name of the brand) and i found that the cheap ones were
a lot stronger and stayed sharper longer but the quality of the teeth
was not so good (ok they were realy bad). When you see the adverts
for the blades they all say that they are good quality and sharp
(blah blah blah) but i think maybe some are a bit loose with the
truth, i have even used a bit of bur life one them, maybe i expect to
much from a blade. i would be greatful if anybody could advise me as
i need to order more blades soon.
You are correct, there are several qualities of saw blades
available. The ones I personally like are the Laser Gold blades.
These are tempered to be more flexible than most blades and have very
consistent sharp teeth. This allows me to saw until the blade becomes
dull rather than starting out that way. I can saw straighter lines
and with more accuracy due to the quality of the blades. I also
break fewer blades than with other brands. I have tried many brands
but keep going back to the laser gold’s. Bur life, or so me kind of
lube for the blades, will allow you to cut with less pressure on the
blade and allows the blade to slide through the metal easier so
keep using it.
These blades are available at Rio Grande.
Best regards,
Phillip Scott GG
Technical Support
Rio Grande
1-800-545-6566
As I said on many of my tips on the saw piercing posts, I have used
the Swiss made Glarden Vallorbe saw blades for the past thirty years,
I also use the Glarden Vallorbe needle files and gravers and the last
time I restocked on gravers or scorpers was back in 1985 and needle
files back in 1990 so you can see how well my tools last. I can also
reccommend the Durston mills, my D2 Durston mills were purchased back
in 1985 and are as good as new today, they are covered with an old
woolen blanket when not in use as is my lathe.
As to saw blades, I do have all sizes in stock but rarely need to
use the 8/0 size as I find the 6/0 Glarden Vallorbe great for most
fine piercing. You can see my piercing with these blades here:
I love Rio’s Laser Gold blades. No affiliations and the usual
disclaimers (and I’m sure there are other quality-made saw blades).
As a side bar, back in the 80’s I took my first jewelery class in
college. We had to buy the “kit” for the class which included the
cheapest tools & supplies, including horrible saw blades. If you
breathed on them wrong they would break! Needless to say, I did not
pursue jewelry then because sawing was so frustrating. Ten years
later an instructor at a local guild suggested Rio’s Laser Gold saw
blades. I’ve been happy ever since and won’t use anything else.
Quality DOES make a difference! JMHO.
Hey Jason, as far as blades go, James Miller recently posted that he
uses Vallorbe blades. When I run low that’s what I’ll order. I was
using a commercial lube but I wasn’t happy with it so I tried pure
beeswax and what a difference even with cheap blades. I’m looking
forward to trying Vallor be blades with beeswax for lube, might
eliminate the cursing.
In my experience, though there are some differences in qualities of
sawblades, I have not noticed enough of a difference for me to
warrant forming an opinion as to the “worst” or the “best”. All of
the brands that I have used in thirty seven years have satisfied my
needs. When I am having problems, it is probably something that I am
doing that is causing the problems. From time to time i have zipped
through a dozen, but never a gross.
as long as the blade has a rounded back and you use a size having at
least 2-4 teeth per mm of metal and apply the beeswax to the back of
the saw blade (NEVER CLOG THE TEETH, IT’S COUNTER PRODUCTIVE!) You
should get good results from any blades and great results from high
quality brands…replacing a worn nut in an old style frame helps too
after many blades begin to slip…rer
