Soak it in a dedicated resin remover or a strong household degreaser, then scrub with a brass brush. Never a steel brush, and never oven cleaner — the caustic soda in it attacks the brazing that holds the carbide teeth on.
Pitch and resin build up on the tooth faces and in the gullets, and they behave exactly like bluntness: more feed pressure, burning, a rougher cut. A large proportion of blades people replace are simply dirty.
The method
Lay the blade flat in a shallow tray — an old baking tray or a plant saucer — and cover it with resin remover, a citrus-based cleaner or a general degreaser. Give it ten or fifteen minutes. Scrub the tooth faces and gullets with a brass brush, which is softer than carbide and will not scratch the plate. Rinse, dry immediately and thoroughly, then wipe with a light oil or wax.
What not to use
Oven cleaner is the folk remedy and it is a bad one. It is strongly caustic, and the braze alloy fixing carbide to steel does not like it. Steel wool and steel brushes scratch the body and leave particles that rust.
While it is off the saw
Look at the teeth for chips, sight along the body for wobble, and check the anti-vibration slots for cracks radiating from the ends.
How often
Whenever the cut deteriorates, and always after a run of pine, spruce or anything resinous. Clean before you conclude a blade is blunt — it costs a quarter of an hour and often saves the blade.
Last reviewed 2026-08-12