How do you maintain your saw?

Of course you want to make sure your saw will last a lifetime. That is why maintenance is important. Maintaining your saw isn't difficult or a lot of work, but your saw does need a little TLC.

Keep the blade clean

Your saw will stay sharp and beautiful for longer if you keep it clean. Due to sawdust and resin between the teeth of your saw blade, the cutting performance of your saw deteriorates. You need to make sure the blade stays clean, otherwise it will lose its function. Olive oil is an effective, environmentally-friendly way to clean the blade. Resin dissolves in olive oil and will therefore disappear if you use it to clean the saw blade. Another advantage: chances are you already have it at home! You can also use detergents, but these will affect the material of the handle and the blade.

For cleaning the saw blade, oven cleaner is also a great option. This is because oven cleaner has a high 'crawling capacity', which ensures that resin, sawdust and other debris are easily detached from the saw blade. You can then use a clean, dry cloth to remove the oven cleaner.

Store it in a dry place

Take good care of your saw, even if you don't use it. Properly dry it, put it in the holster and store it somewhere dry. Moisture can cause rust. Quite a shame really. Apply petroleum jelly or a maintenance oil such as Ballistol to the dry saw blade. Greasing prevents the saw blade from rusting. Don't have a holster? Then store the saw hanging up. Never just put it away in a drawer or on the workbench. Hanging a saw is safer and keeps your saw straight and sharp.

In the unlikely event that the saw blade has started to rust, there are several ways to fix it. For example, the saw blade can be cleaned with vinegar. Leave the saw blade in vinegar for 24 hours. The vinegar reacts with rust and causes it to detach from the metal. After these 24 hours in the vinegar, easily brush off the rust with a steel brush or some aluminium foil. An old cloth soaked in vinegar can be enough to remove light rust stains!

Don't have the patience for those 24 hours? Then opt for baking soda. Mix this with water until it is thick enough to spread on the tools. Wait 2-3 hours before taking it off again. This can easily be done with a piece of cloth or an old toothbrush.

Sharpening your saw

To sharpen a saw blade, use a small file, diamond sharpening steel or whetstone. You need a sharpening tool that allows you to sharpen each individual tooth of the saw. For sharpening your saw, we recommend the following products:

Replacing the saw blade

Is your saw blade broken and are you no longer able to sharpen it? Then it's time to replace the blade. Most saw blades are easy to replace, so you won't have to purchase a new saw. That is why you should always check to see if this is possible for your saw! Find all replacement saw blades here.