nickp Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 (edited) Now that I have a saw, rather than hit 'n miss on buying blades, I thought I would ask you for a good source for blades and a recommendation on which manufacturer(s) you prefer. For now, I need some blades to practice with...maybe a variety of "beginner" blades to make some dust...? Thanks in advance... (more questions to follow) Edited May 24, 2020 by nickp OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneMahler Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 First off welcome to the addiction ( hobby ) . I would suggest trying different brands and sizes of blades. You'll get a lot of information here as well as opinions. Personally I like Flying Dutchmen . Other swear by Pegas, Olson and many other brands. Each brand has it's own feel and they all cut wood, but have a slightly different feel to them . I get my blades from Mike's Workshop ( also the same as Wooden Teddy Bear ) at a very reasonable price and free shipping. Other will chime in on their particular blades of choice too and places where they purchase them for you. As for other questions, please feel free to ask, a lot of the people up here love to share knowledge and experience and opinions. Just an all around great place to be. Remember to exercise patience while learning and most importantly, have fun. OCtoolguy, nickp, amazingkevin and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgman Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 As a scroll saw instructor, I recommend starting with a skip tooth blade first. A skip tooth is a good general duty blade that clears dust away more efficiently than most others blades. Without reverse teeth you don’t have to worry about The the blade trying to lift the wood off of the table. Flying Dutchman, Pegas and Olson all have a good skip tooth blade. I would get sizes #1, #3 and ##5. Once you master those, then go on to different styles. When I teach a beginners class, I start the students off with Olson #5 skip tooth blades, on 3/4” pine. Personally, I use mostly Flying Dutchman Ultra Reverse blades in sizes 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. I also use FD Polar blades which is a skip tooth blade, and I also use Olson reverse tooth blades. I have tried Pegas Modified Geometry blades, and they are good, but not good enough to change over. John B, don watson, Mwebb1234a and 3 others 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Knappen Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 As a distributor for Pegas, I recommend the Pegas MGT blades and as Dan suggests the Pegas Skip blades. I don’t have sample packs available, send me a PM and I will get you started. OCtoolguy, nickp, scrollingforsanity and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrampaJim Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 Good advise here. Try all three brands mentioned above. Personally I have settled on Pegas blades that I get from Denny. OCtoolguy, amazingkevin, nickp and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickp Posted May 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, dgman said: As a scroll saw instructor, I recommend starting with a skip tooth blade first. A skip tooth is a good general duty blade that clears dust away more efficiently than most others blades. Without reverse teeth you don’t have to worry about The the blade trying to lift the wood off of the table. Flying Dutchman, Pegas and Olson all have a good skip tooth blade. I would get sizes #1, #3 and ##5. Once you master those, then go on to different styles. When I teach a beginners class, I start the students off with Olson #5 skip tooth blades, on 3/4” pine. Personally, I use mostly Flying Dutchman Ultra Reverse blades in sizes 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. I also use FD Polar blades which is a skip tooth blade, and I also use Olson reverse tooth blades. I have tried Pegas Modified Geometry blades, and they are good, but not good enough to change over. Thanks, Dan (?)...exactly what I needed. I'll be shopping on line as I have plenty of time while cleaning and some maintenance on the saw. I will search around unless you have a good place to buy them...? from Denny...? Thanks again... Edited May 24, 2020 by nickp OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ike Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 I prefer olson's blades and I buy them from The Wooden teddybear. unless I need them now and not 2 days from now I will go to manards they have a good selection of olsons. blades. IKE poupster2, nickp, amazingkevin and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgman Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 1 hour ago, nickp said: Thanks, Dan (?)...exactly what I needed. I'll be shopping on line as I have plenty of time while cleaning and some maintenance on the saw. I will search around unless you have a good place to buy them...? from Denny...? Thanks again... Olson and Flying Dutchman blades are both available from The Wooden Teddy Bear, and yes Denny supplies Pegas blades. The Wooden Teddy Bear bought out Flying Dutchman a few years back. If you order direct from www.mikesworkshop.com, you get free shipping. If you order from TWTB, you pay for shipping. nickp, amazingkevin, John B and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Moreton Posted May 24, 2020 Report Share Posted May 24, 2020 If you ask 5 scrollers, you will get 5 different answers. I will buy Flying Dutchman from Mikes Workshop, Sharktooth from Scrollers Online, and On Line blades from Judy Gale Roberts. WayneMahler, OCtoolguy, nickp and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted May 25, 2020 Report Share Posted May 25, 2020 I don't necessarily like to deal with these guys on a regular basis.. as sometimes they're slow.. But they do offer all three of the major brands and they also offer sample packs.. of each style blade.. Just click on the brand and then the style blade ( ie go to Pegas and then choose MG blades.. at the top they offer Intro packs ).. I bought samples of each style of Pegas when I first learned of the Pegas blades.. The intro packs of each style Pegas offered.. Yeah was a bit pricey but I quickly learned which blades I liked best and what ones I'll likely never use.. It's nice to be able to buy all the Intro packs from all the major brands all in one place.. Used to be everyone sold the intro packs.. now I rarely see them.. and it's a shame they don't make these more available.. I wonder if this company re-packages the blades to make the intro packs.. because i never see any others offering them any more.. Mike from FD blades used to and maybe they still do.. They don't ever make it easy to find that's for sure.. LOL http://www.scrollsawbladespatterns.com/index.htm amazingkevin, OCtoolguy, BadBob and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedido Posted May 25, 2020 Report Share Posted May 25, 2020 Like everyone has said, to each their own. I started with Olson because they were the only local brand available. I then went online and picked a Flying Dutchman brand mainly because I work with a Dutchman who flies. I started with an intro pack and saw which ones I used and now order them from Leslies saw blades. There is a reference page in SSV of where to get products. That might help you with not only blades, but other items. amazingkevin, nickp and OCtoolguy 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puzzleguy Posted May 25, 2020 Report Share Posted May 25, 2020 (edited) I have realized Ive used so many different brands , and even the same blade can change from year to year - sometimes the teeth cut deeper sometimes more shallow - when ever anyone asks me what i use i tell them general sizes -but even with that , 5 different people will like 5 different brands or sizes -becasue not every saw cuts the same and how you cut is different -alot like different kinds of cars -its crazy - some blades like pegas for example dont seem to last for long on a particular saw -- Edited May 25, 2020 by Puzzleguy kmmcrafts, OCtoolguy and nickp 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockytime Posted May 26, 2020 Report Share Posted May 26, 2020 8 hours ago, Fedido said: Like everyone has said, to each their own. I started with Olson because they were the only local brand available. I then went online and picked a Flying Dutchman brand mainly because I work with a Dutchman who flies. I started with an intro pack and saw which ones I used and now order them from Leslies saw blades. There is a reference page in SSV of where to get products. That might help you with not only blades, but other items. When I first started scrolling about three years ago I made my first on line order from Leslies. What a revolting development that was. Back then I still had my hearing and called them after waiting a couple of weeks for my order. I got a weird message asking for an extension number. I tried several more times during the next few days and got the same thing. Finally I got through to them and got this apology about the phones being out of order. I finally received a partial order. Never did get a refund on the incomplete order. I'm surprised they are still in business. I would like to know of a vendor that sells all the brands. That certainly would be handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickp Posted May 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2020 (edited) Just finished watching a video of a gentleman showing how to practice with a practice pattern...not the important point though... He stated that all blades are stamped...ALL blades are stamped...? He explained this when he demonstrated "drift" that the blade will always cut more on one side... Are all blades stamped and do not cut straight, meaning it cuts more on one side...? When I get home I'm gonna have to try this again...the one piece I cut "seemed" that the blade cut straight with no drift...gonna use a straightedge on the next attempt... Edited May 26, 2020 by nickp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted May 26, 2020 Report Share Posted May 26, 2020 1 hour ago, Rockytime said: When I first started scrolling about three years ago I made my first on line order from Leslies. What a revolting development that was. Back then I still had my hearing and called them after waiting a couple of weeks for my order. I got a weird message asking for an extension number. I tried several more times during the next few days and got the same thing. Finally I got through to them and got this apology about the phones being out of order. I finally received a partial order. Never did get a refund on the incomplete order. I'm surprised they are still in business. I would like to know of a vendor that sells all the brands. That certainly would be handy. They had a bit of a rough patch about three years ago.. I ordered from them for several years and not much of any issues until about that time three years ago.. They no longer are my main source for blades.. I always like them for two sons.. They at the time I run across them was the only source that took PayPal as a payment method.. I always had money in my PayPal back then as that was the only payment i accepted so that worked out well for me.. plus they carry all three brands I use.. since I do use some of each brand of blades still to this day.. Though Pegas is the most used.. Anyway, I think I read where its a small husband / wife business and that they was splitting up.. Not sure if that is true or not.. Last couple orders I've done went smooth as they did before.. But I now don't do much business with them like I did.. I've had two or three issues during that one year though and I've had to email them about not getting all of my blades etc... They always took care of it.. but yes for a while they was poorly running the business.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted May 26, 2020 Report Share Posted May 26, 2020 21 minutes ago, nickp said: Just finished watching a video of a gentleman showing how to practice with a practice pattern...not the important part though... He stated that all blades are stamped...ALL blades are stamped...? He explained this when he demonstrated "drift" that the blade will always cut more on one side... Are all blades stamped and do not cut straight, meaning it cuts more on one side...? When I get home I'm gonna have to try this again...the one piece I cut "seemed" that the blade cut straight with no drift...gonna use a straightedge on the next attempt... I don't know exactly how they are made.. I've read they are stamped and I do think the majority of them are.. Pegas MG ( Modified Geometry ) blades cut straight.. as does the Olsen PGT ( Precision Ground Tooth ).. That I know of.. those are the only straight on cutting blades there is.. nickp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickp Posted May 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2020 3 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said: I don't know exactly how they are made.. I've read they are stamped and I do think the majority of them are.. Pegas MG ( Modified Geometry ) blades cut straight.. as does the Olsen PGT ( Precision Ground Tooth ).. That I know of.. those are the only straight on cutting blades there is.. Thank you... kmmcrafts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted May 26, 2020 Report Share Posted May 26, 2020 I'd like to know which blades are aggressive. Rockytime 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockytime Posted May 26, 2020 Report Share Posted May 26, 2020 50 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said: I don't know exactly how they are made.. I've read they are stamped and I do think the majority of them are.. Pegas MG ( Modified Geometry ) blades cut straight.. as does the Olsen PGT ( Precision Ground Tooth ).. That I know of.. those are the only straight on cutting blades there is.. Blades are not stamped, they are milled. nickp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heppnerguy Posted May 26, 2020 Report Share Posted May 26, 2020 I found the double tooth #3 and #5 Dutchman and Olsen brands worked really well for me. They are not very aggressive so I found them easy to keep control of my cuts with; After years of intarsia and scrolling I have switched to Pegas blades which are more aggressive and I now prefer them. You may find you will make blade preferences as you scroll more. Try different brands and sizes, that is the only way you will know what you really like Dick heppnerguy nickp and Rockytime 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted May 26, 2020 Report Share Posted May 26, 2020 Flying Dutchman blades 1,3,5 polar and skip tooth are the most I use. I get them from Hawk Scroll saw website. That's the cheapest place I have found. Cheaper than many others. nickp and ben2008 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben2008 Posted June 10, 2020 Report Share Posted June 10, 2020 (edited) As most scrollers will say. Try them all and practice on some old pine boards if you can. You will find what works for you. I personally use Olson blades. But I also have Flying Dutchman blades. I get the Flying Dutchman from Mikes. I get the Olson blades from RBI Hawk website at a very reasonable price and reasonable shipping. I love the Olson PGT blades and use them the most. They seem to cut straighter (for me) than other blades. Especially on hardwoods. For fine fretwork a PGT blade won't work. You will need very fine blades for that. It's a great hobby and very relaxing. Good luck. Ben Edited June 10, 2020 by ben2008 nickp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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