Hacksaw blade recommendations?

Zachary Hoyt

Well-known Member
I have been using hacksaw blades from a bunch of odd ones I got at an auction about 10 or 15 years ago, but now I am almost out of the 12" ones that my good saws take. I have never bought new hacksaw blades as far as I can recall and I am wondering if anyone can recommend whether I should buy cheap or more expensive ones or any particular brands to look for or avoid. My regular everyday use is cutting brass up to 1" wide and 3/16" thick, I do this weekly if not more often. I also have random steel things to cut from time to time, bolts or the like. It seems like 18-24 TPI is the best range for me based on the random blades from the auction but if there's something else I should try I'd like to know. Thank you very much.
 
Starrett or Buck Bros. are two brands that come to mind. Any good name really. Stay away from the el-cheapo stuff. The blades will snap very easily. Years ago I was teaching high school machine shop and I bought a bunch of cheap hacksaw blades and they sometimes broke on the first stroke. Wasn't just the kids, me too. Ellis
 
Yes, 18-24 TPI is a good metal cutting blade.

And name brand does make a difference. Lennox is a good popular brand.

The saw itself make a big difference. It needs to be heavy duty, rigid construction.

The saw operator is probably the biggest factor though. Keeping the speed down, lifting on the back stroke.

But still, I despise those things!!!

As much as you are cutting, you can more than justify a power saw of some kind!
 
I remember high school wood shop, the first year we were only allowed to use hand tools. And even then the first half of the year was on safely using them.

We got around to the hack saw. I remember the instructor telling us the hack saw was hard to teach safety on because there is really no way to hurt your self with one! (He wasn't the brightest teacher I eve had!)

I think I have hurt my self more with hack saws than anything except maybe a hammer! LOL
 
Thank you both for the recommendations. I will look for those brands. I don't cut a lot with the hacksaw, when I have a big lot of brass to cut I put an old blade in the woodworking bandsaw and use that, but for a few cuts at a time the hacksaw is pretty fast. This morning for instance I had to make a single cut to make down the length of a 1/8"x1/2"x2.5" strip of brass, and it took less than a minute with the brass held in a vise. I am down to only one spare blade left, so I figured I'd better ask soon. I needed to cut the 1/2" width down to 1/4" and I didn't like the idea of grinding it all off. I have a couple of good rigid saws, but they only take 12" blades. I also have a few of the floppy adjustable kind that would take the 10" blades I still have, but I don't like using them very much. Thank you both very much for your help.
 
I don't use hacksaws any more unless I have no other choice.

My tool of choice now is a reciprocating saw (sawzall), but not just any recip saw.

I inherited an old Milwaukee Sawzall many years ago and it ran really smooth - not at all like the zip--slice--you're done saws of today that are meant primarily for wood/nail demolition. I preferred a more surgical cut, but the movement and angle of the blade prevented that.

With great hesitation, I ordered a newer Skil brand recip saw, and it has easily met my needs in such a tool. They have two models; one 9 amp and the other 13 amp. These models say it has something called "Buzzkill Technology". Runs very smooth - great for metal cutting. They have come down quite a bit in price since I got mine.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/SKILSAW...-with-Buzzkill-Technology-SPT44A-00/303353761

There are videos on Youtube and the Skil website that will explain why it runs so smooth.
 
My experience with hacksaw blades is that you need to go with the most expensive blade in the store.

A cheap hacksaw blade is a false economy. One good blade will outlast many cheap ones.

You only complain once about a high-priced tool, but you'll complain forever about a cheap one.
 
I prefer Lenox brand hacksaw blades and sawsall blades. Now they are selling all different types under this name brand. See if the package makes a recommendation on it.
Years ago I was sawsalling a piece of truck frame rail. Others would soon get hot and dull. The lenox would get so hot and turn blue and keep on cutting. Another time I was cutting a truck firewall off. It was vibrating really bad and the blades would catch and break off. The lenox I picked up would cut and sometimes jamb up and get bent but they would keep on cutting.
 
Hello Zachary Hoyt,

I prefer Sanvik blades. I have their saw frame which has an aluminum square frame, a good size handle with a front hand guard. It also has an adjusting knob for tensioning the blade.

A rigid handle is a must as well as proper lubrication,

Guido.
 
Just to throw this in here. We weld our own bandsaw blades at my job. From the left over pieces of bulk blade material, I will cut a length to fit my hacksaw frame and drill a hole in each end. I am currently using a 12 inch piece of Lennox 10/14 variable pitch bi-metal blade stock. I usually cut 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 square stock
 
The "bi-metal" hacksaw blade will be the most satisfactory for general use, and although I favor M K Morse blades, there are a number of good brands. Of course, a good hacksaw blade will perform its best when paired with a GOOD "high tension" hacksaw frame.

If you reach for a hacksaw more than every so often, it's very convenient to have a number of good frames, each holding a different tooth pitch blade.
 
Do you load your blade to cut on the pull stroke? Much less stress on the hacksaw frame and cuts straighter.
 
Thank you all for your advice, I really appreciate it. I tried looking around for Lenox, Starrett and Buck Bros blades yesterday and ended up getting 90 of the Lenox bi-metal 18 tpi blades on eBay for $60 with the shipping. That was the best price I could find and I think I should have a decade or two's worth of blades now, so that will be very nice. They're marked Made In USA, so I hope that's a good sign too, but I guess I won't know for sure till they come in the mail and I can try one out.
 
Stroke no more the 80 per minute, never push down on the way back, but don't pull it out of the kerf. Start straight and don't try to correct a crooked cut, start ofer from a different side. You will like Lenox blades. Jim
 

I switched to a 3" high speed air driven cut off saw. Mine is a MAC and works much better than the cheapos from HF. The MAC runs at twice the speed of the HF ones. Oil prior to each use and it will last a lifetime.
 
Thanks very much, that's new to me. I would say my stroke rate is usually closer to 120, I'll have to learn to slow it down. Maybe that's why my blades get dull quickly.
 

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