Just ordered some Cooks Super Sharps to try out...

[conchwood]

Blades

I have been using Cooks supersharp since they first came out with them and thats almost all I use on my mill. I do have a super resaw blade that I use when resawing dried nailfree wood and am thinking of trying one of those colbaltized blades for wood with nails as I hate changing blades everytime I get a hardware laden log.

Been having a hard time figuring out what type of blades to use on my LumberMate. I see mixed reviews on most of the brands I was looking at, Cooks Super Sharps, Lenox Woodmaster Cs, and Simonds RedStreak...

My mentor highly recommended the Cooks Super Sharps, but has only used one on his sawmill, and said it cut beautifully. The reason he's not using them is that his sharpener doesn't have the proper cam for the Cooks Super Sharps, so has been using Lenox.

There is a local saw shop about 1 hour away from me that has the equipment to resharpen the Super Sharps, with the roller machine and proper cam, so hopefully I can get them resharpened there without sending them back to Alabama. One of the things that shy'd me away from Cooks initially was the shipping was $50 for a box of 10. *ouch!* It hurts to be in Cali sometimes...but when the weather breaks I'll be gloating...

I called and Cooks could ship parcel post for $29, so I ordered them. I doubt I could get shipping on a box of 10 Lenox or Simonds blades cheaper...so I think it's worth trying out the Cooks Super Sharps.

I'll let you guys know what I think about them when they come, hopefully I'll have everything setup by then. The Cooks Super Sharps have an 8 degree hook and .022" set. Well, the gal said 22 set, when I asked if that was .022" she said she wasn't sure. Being that I build handsaws I'm sure that must be what they mean, the blades are .042" thick.

The blades I was given with the mill are Lenox, AFAIK, but I will find out for sure when I head over to the yard.

What blades do some of you other folks use on your sawmills? I have seen really bad reviews on the Norwood blades, and they sell for more than any of the other blades, so crossed those off my list early in the search. I think I have one of the cobaltized blades that is new, as they give you one with the mill, and I bet the previous owner didn't use it. I only have 1 or 2 new blades, but suspect I may only have one new blade and it might be the blade they give with a sawmill purchase, or at least used to give, not sure if Norwood still does.