Should a new set of jointer knives need to be sharpened?

I bought a set of Oshlun dado blades thru Amazon that seemed from their condition, to have been used. I inspected them carefully and have used them for several months with no problems, but wondered at the time if I should return them. Did your knives come in unopened original packaging. If not you may not have gotten new knives.

Having never bought jointer knives, I can’t answer your specific question.

-- Trees, a wonderful gift --Joe--

They were in original packaging as far as I can tell. They had a wax like paper around them and were in a small Freud box. I beleive they are new. They were from Amazon directly not an Amazon resaler. I doubt that Amazon would risk their name on pulling shifty deals. Not to say that your blades weren’t used.. I’m just saying that I feel certain that mine are new.

-- Wipe the blood stains from your blade before coming in.--

jointer knives should come ready for work out of the box. however, they may not be honed as well as one would like – try honing them on some fine grit and see if you get an improvement.

-- ㊍ When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I sharpen my own jointer and planer knives on my conical disk sander. Even with this, I give them a final hone, by hand, on my water stones. If they won’t slice a loosely held sheet of paper….....like schlipppp…...then they aren’t sharp enough.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

Wow I just went to look at my current knives installed on my jointer. They have a secondary bevel and as dull as they are they are sharper than the brand new Freuds I just got. The Freuds have no secondary bevel at all. I think this is a problem. If I had the skills to sharpen a blade this wide I would have sharpened my old ones. Bummer.

-- Wipe the blood stains from your blade before coming in.--

Take the old ones to your local saw sharpening shop or look online, find a sharpening service and send the old ones to them. Let them sharpen them and send them back. It isn’t all that expensive. They will be so much better than factory blades, sharp wise that is.. You still might want to hone them a bit on a extra fine stone before putting them in the head. A couple of passes is all. You could even make a block to clamp them in and rehone them occasionally.

Yes, they should be pretty sharp.

-- Michael Murphy, Woodland, CA.

When I got my second set of jointer blades (not Freud) they were sharp and ready for service. Send them back as it sounds like a manufacturers mistake. You might even want to take pics and contact Freud about this situation as they may be unaware of the mistake. I have done this in the past and generally the manufacturer will make things right with you, and even throw in a couple of freebies for bringing it to their attention. It may have been a pallet that accidentally got sent to shipping instead of sharpening.

-- I don't make mistakes, I have great learning lessons, Greg

The Freud blades should be sharp and ready to go out of the package. (I have Freud blades in my 8” jointer. They were razor sharp when I got them.) I suspect Amazon might have sold you a return? I really doubt Freud would have shipped you a dull set. It’s certainly possible, but highly improbable.

Send them back to Amazon and ask for a replacement or refund. No way you should have to sharpen jointer blades or planner blades right out of a package.

-- "I'll show you my tenon if you show me your mortise!"