How to Choose a Hacksaw Blade

What is Hacksaw Blade? 

A hacksaw is an essential tool for plumbers, carpenters, and others. Hacksaw is a cutting tool built for cutting wood, plastic, steel, and other metals. As the length of the hacksaw frame can be changed to hold blades of various sizes, it is also called an adjustable hacksaw. 

Hacksaw blades are available up to 12-inch sizes for cutting materials with a range of teeth. 

Hacksaw Blade TPI Guide

The number of teeth (cutting edges) per inch in the hacksaw blade for metal is described by TPI. Blades usually have 14, 18, 24, 32 teeth for every 25 mm (inch). 

A blade with 14 TPI is light, a medium-class 24 TPI, and a blade with 32 TPI is very strong for cutting. The hacksaw blade is ideal for cutting a long plastic pipe into small size tubes with short and narrow teeth than a traditional saw.

Here is a detailed chart of every possible size of a hack saw blade for cutting different materials.

How to Pick a Hacksaw?

Every hacksaw works in the same manner, the major difference comes in variations of the blades used for hacksaw tool. A hacksaw is designed for perfect cutting of wood, pipe, and metal. 

The three most common types of hacksaw blades for steel are effective for cutting various types of metal, and it is important to know which type of blade is perfect for your job. 

Read on to learn more about different types of hacksaw blades like regular, raker, and wavy blades.

Types of Hacksaw Blades

There are two most common types of hacksaw blades are available for cutting, Carbon regular blades and high-speed steel blades. Carbon Steel blades are also known as hacksaw blades for wood, ideal for cutting wood. While high-speed steel blades are perfect for cutting hard materials such as steel and alloys. Regular blades do not last long as high-speed steel blades. 

The three most common types of hacksaw blades are effective for cutting various types of metal such as regular blades, raker blades, and wavy blades.

Hacksaw Blades For Metal Cutting

• Regular Blade

The regular hacksaw blade is the most commonly used blade for cutting soft metals. You do not need to buy this blade separately, as hardware stores offer a regular blade with a hacksaw tool.  It is perfect for cutting aluminum and tintype soft metals. The teeth alternate between the left and the right with a regular hacksaw blade and strike each other, this makes metal cutting smooth and easy. 

• Raker Blade

Raker hacksaw blades are simple and easy to identify as it has three teeth in the group.  If you ignore its odd appearance, these raker blade is perfect for cutting thick metals like an iron pipe. Using a regular hacksaw blade for iron pipe cutting would not only lead to a blunt blade also, lots of irritation.

Although, with a raker blade, you have to work hard and need to put lots of effort into cutting the pipe. But, this is the right blade for your heavy jobs.  

• Wavy Blade

A wavy blade is the perfect hacksaw blade for cutting thin metal. If you see carefully the teeth of this blade run from right to left and left to right in a wave pattern. It gives your thin metal a smooth cut although, it is not suitable for thick and heavy metals. 

What is the Best Hacksaw Blade? 

BENCHMARK ABRASIVES 12" X 24T BI-METAL HACK SAW BLADES

Benchmark abrasives 12” Bi-metal hack saw blade is considered as the best hacksaw blade. It is an essential tool for plumbers, & carpenters to cut steel, wood, and plastic pipes. A time-tested and handy hack saw blades specifically built to cut metal. The blades are solid and reliable to use with a standard hacksaw. See the list of our favorites hacksaw blades for hardened steel.