# Not bad - Not Good.



## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

The thing to use is heavy duty Easy Off Oven Cleaner. You have to hold your breath when spraying it, but it works so good! I use a 1/2" dowel with a notch in it to hold the blade so I don't get any on my hands and spray it in the washtub. I just bought 2 more cans and used it Saturday on 2 blades. they look like new!!


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

Thank you much Jim!

I have a question. Have you heard about the oven cleaner dissolving the binding between the carbide and the kerf? That's the only "potentially" negative thing I have heard. Then again, I highly respect your opinion and you have gone a lot further down that road than I. I'm buying easy off next time.


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## HillbillyShooter (Feb 15, 2012)

CMT Formula 2050 Blade and Bit Cleaner is the product I've used for the past 15-years or more. It probably is not as fast as Jim's oven cleaner, but I don't have to hold my breath, it's orange flavored/scented and water soluble. I just spray it on and let it sit for awhile, come back and brush each tooth at each cutting angle, applying more as needed, and then wash off with hot water and dry with paper towels. I ordered a gallon from Ace Tools a couple of years ago and have about 2/3s unused so it lasts fairly well. And, yes, I regularly clean my blades and don't allow any build up because they simply cut better and cleaner without any pitch. Good luck on your quest or a cleaner. I also understand Simple Green works well.


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

I use that stuff; have been for years.
I use it differently from the directions though; I use it at full strength, let the blade or bit soak for 10-15 minutes and everything wipes off very easily. And I've cleaned some really charred router bits with it.

The used cleaner goes back in the bottle. I'm on the same bottle I bought when I started woodworking 8+ years ago.


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

What NiteWalker said…. use it in a large, shallow tupperware, soak, and when done, cover and store for next time.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Mark, It seems to me that the mechanical connection between the steel and the carbide provided by brazing bronze on the better blades would preclude something like oven cleaner from affecting it.
After all, oven cleaner is usually just Lye in one form or another.
If the Lye wasn't rinsed off it might affect the bond, maybe, possibly, but if you are like me, once you clean a blade you rinse it in boiling water to remove any residue and help it to dry quickly.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Mark, I have soaked mine in straight Simple Green (purple formula) for years and never had a problem with the brazing. I pour it back in the jug and reuse it so really cheap. I soak overnight in a shallow pizza pan and then rinse with nozzle on the hose.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

1+ Simple Green Purple. I use it diluted 50% with water, and it works like a charm.
Available at HD in gallon jugs.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

Thank you all very much! I appreciate your words of wisdom and experience.


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## ChrisK (Dec 18, 2009)

There was a post regarding Simple Green a few weeks ago stating the comments from simple green below. It would be nice if a metallurgist could comment on how long it takes for the cobalt binder to be damaged.

Here is what Carol Chapin from Simple Green has to say on the matter:

"Simple Green has been successfully used by many woodworkers over many years as a good spray-wipe-and rinse cleaner for saw blades. When pitch is fairly fresh (within a 12 hour period of deposit,) it is fairly easily removed by Simple Green. Older, dried out pitch is much more difficult to remove. What we do not recommend is long-term soaking of cobalt/carbide blades in Simple Green. Long exposure like this can possibly cause cobalt leaching that will, in turn, effect the integrity of the carbide. Shorter term "spray/wipe/rinse" applications do not pose that kind of problem. We would recommend dwell times of full-strength Simple Green upon cobalt/carbide steel to be no more than about 15 minutes.

As mentioned in my earlier email, if you have a blade that has an older, tougher buildup of pitch, try soaking the blade in strong coffee overnight. Several folks have told us that this does work."


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

The green (original) simple green has those limitations. The purple simple green is approved for soaking carbide tooling. All of my blade pitch is >12 hrs old. Sometimes I forget the blade in the soaking tray. That's why I chose simple green purple.

I spoke with a rep at simple green, and he said the same as ChrisK.


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