Blades and Sharpeners

[jaayres20]

Good day, I am a newbie and have recently built my own mill.  It is large with rubber tires, a 4.5' cut width and a 25hp Kubota Gas engine.  I started out with Cooks blades.  I ran one Super Sharp blade with an 8 degree hook angle then switched over to XL Black and recently XL Silver blades, which are both 10 degree hook angles.  I have only ran a total of 11 Cooks blades so far.  I cut mostly hardwoods like Honey Lucust, Ash, Elm, Mulberry, a little Walnut, and sometimes Osage Orange.  I only cut Osage Orange when it is green.  The Cooks blades seem to be working just fine.  They cut straight when they are not dull and seem to pull themselves through the cut.  I decided to give a Woodmizer blade a try and gave them a call.  They recommended, based on my description of my mill, a Double Hard blade with a 4 degree hook angle.  I let them know that I prioritized blade life over cutting speed.  

I put the Woodmizer blade on with an Osage Orange log.  I am thinking I should have used a different log to test the blade.  The first thing I noticed was how terribly slow I had to go with the blade.  I ended up making 5 cuts with the Osage Orange which was about 14" wide and 8' long.  I then milled a smaller green Honey Locust log which was about 14"-15" wide and 7' long.  The blade acted like it was dull.  It was very slow going, but it always had been, and there were even some slightly wavy cuts.  The only time I ever have a wavy cut with the Cooks blades is when the blade is getting dull.  

It was my understanding that a 4 degree blade will tend to cut straighter than a 10 degree blade.  Is this not true?  Also, do you think I got a bad Woodmizer blade, or do you think the Osage Orange just ate it up right off the bat?  I have milled a little Osage with the Cooks Blades and they did not seem to fair that bad.  I can usually make it through a couple of good sized Osage logs before the blade dulls.  

And finally, if I end up staying with Cooks blades, would it be a better option to go with the Cooks sharpener?  I read a couple of posts that had the Woodmizer sharpener being a better option.     

[terrifictimbersllc]

Strongly recommend learning to be able to look at a blade with a 10x hand lens to determine if it is sharp.  Otherwise like sawing in the dark.  Too many possibilities affecting cut performance.

[PAmizerman]

I never liked 4° or 10° bands.
I would go with a 7° or 7/47

[Gere Flewelling]

I believe you will have the same good results with a Cat Claw sharpener as you seem to be having with their blades.  I have their sharpener, and dual tooth setter.  I have had great results for three years now.  I wish you luck with whatever you decide.

[barbender]

I have a Cat's claw, and it works decent. It is really hard for me to get a consistent grind, but to be fair, I don't take the best care of my blades. Sometimes they get some rust on them and such. At any rate, if I get it set where it just kisses the face of the tooth like it should, then it completely misses the face of a lit of teeth. I finally just gave up and grind heavy enough to hit everything, which burns the teeth a bit. I ran out of patience🤷🏽‍♂️

[KenMac]

Good day, I am a newbie and have recently built my own mill.  It is large with rubber tires, a 4.5' cut width and a 25hp Kubota Gas engine.  I started out with Cooks blades.  I ran one Super Sharp blade with an 8 degree hook angle then switched over to XL Black and recently XL Silver blades, which are both 10 degree hook angles.  I have only ran a total of 11 Cooks blades so far.  I cut mostly hardwoods like Honey Lucust, Ash, Elm, Mulberry, a little Walnut, and sometimes Osage Orange.  I only cut Osage Orange when it is green.  The Cooks blades seem to be working just fine.  They cut straight when they are not dull and seem to pull themselves through the cut.  I decided to give a Woodmizer blade a try and gave them a call.  They recommended, based on my description of my mill, a Double Hard blade with a 4 degree hook angle.  I let them know that I prioritized blade life over cutting speed.  

I put the Woodmizer blade on with an Osage Orange log.  I am thinking I should have used a different log to test the blade.  The first thing I noticed was how terribly slow I had to go with the blade.  I ended up making 5 cuts with the Osage Orange which was about 14" wide and 8' long.  I then milled a smaller green Honey Locust log which was about 14"-15" wide and 7' long.  The blade acted like it was dull.  It was very slow going, but it always had been, and there were even some slightly wavy cuts.  The only time I ever have a wavy cut with the Cooks blades is when the blade is getting dull.  

It was my understanding that a 4 degree blade will tend to cut straighter than a 10 degree blade.  Is this not true?  Also, do you think I got a bad Woodmizer blade, or do you think the Osage Orange just ate it up right off the bat?  I have milled a little Osage with the Cooks Blades and they did not seem to fair that bad.  I can usually make it through a couple of good sized Osage logs before the blade dulls.  

And finally, if I end up staying with Cooks blades, would it be a better option to go with the Cooks sharpener?  I read a couple of posts that had the Woodmizer sharpener being a better option.    

I use and like Cook's super sharp blades, but I have no other experience to compare with. I wish you luck with your endeavors, whatever you do.

[Banjo picker]

Bartender, try not putting much radius on the left side of your rock.  Sounds like you have too big of a radius and the little paw is then moving around too much in that circle as it moves the blade forward.  Another thing I live by is don't mess with the machine once it gets started around a band.  If you do the band will do just as you said the next time you sharpen it, it will be doing fine in one place and then when it gets to where a slight adjustment was made....it will hit the teeth differently.  Banjo

[barbender]

I'll try that, Banjo. Thanks👍

[ladylake]

 I found when the wheel had to much radius and the gullet was rounded on the face of the tooth letting the push rod crawl up the tooth a little sometimes taking a little more or less off the face of the tooth.  On my Wright sharpener it was just gravity holding the push rod down in the bottom of the gullet, I added a light spring pulling it down which helped a lot.  Steve