Several, and on a good blade many more than most people expect — the limit is carbide left on the tip, not the number of visits. A blade with tall tips outlasts a cheap one with thin ones by a wide margin over its life.
The tooth is a small block of tungsten carbide brazed to a steel body. Sharpening grinds that block back, usually on the face and sometimes on the top. Each pass takes a fraction of a millimeter.
What sets the limit
How much carbide there was to begin with. This is the single specification that separates blades that otherwise look identical, and it is almost never advertised. Compare the tips side by side and the difference is obvious: a serious blade has a substantial block, a budget one has a wafer.
What else changes as you go
The blade gets slightly smaller in diameter each time. On a table saw that costs a little depth of cut, which nobody notices. On a mitre saw with a fixed fence and a deep cut capacity, several regrinds can eventually matter.
The kerf can also narrow very slightly, which matters if you cut zero-clearance inserts to match a particular blade — recut the insert after a sharpening.
What ends it early
Hitting a nail, which chips teeth. Overheating, which ruins the body. Letting the blade go far past blunt, which lets the carbide overheat and micro-crack, so the sharpened edge fails again quickly.
Send blades in while they are only just dull. It is cheaper and the blade lasts longer.
Last reviewed 2026-08-12