Listen & learn

he short version of Ernest Hemingway’s advice to a young writer included, “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” The team at Sawblade.com takes listening seriously because many new ideas have sprouted from conversations with people who use the blades and related equipment.

The company’s products are all “made for us or by us,” Chris Luke, CEO of Sawblade.com, Houston, says. This direct involvement allows for a give-and-take with customers, providing them a better overall experience and lower cost. Instead of accolades, Luke often prefers to hear what customers think can be improved about the company’s products and services—everything from the blades themselves to the packaging they’re shipped in.

“For years, we put wheels in wooden crates to ship them out. Customers complained because the nailed-shut crates were too hard to open, so we switched to a patented corrugated box,” Luke says.

A blade for everything

Certain fab shops, like trailer manufacturers, cut a wide variety of materials, including “corrugated tin, angle iron, plate, and wood for the decking,” Luke says. For these customers, the company recently released “the Swiss army knife of blades”—the Xiphos, which fits any standard 7¼-in. circular saw. “It will cut wood, plastic, nail-embedded wood, angle iron and ³⁄₁₆-in.-thick steel plate.

Another new Sawblade.com product aimed at structural steel fabricators is the Qsaw 501 IC structural band saw blade, which addresses noise, a common customer complaint. It has a unique tooth design that is performs quieter cutting and prevents over-feeding and the resulting stripped teeth.

Luke also cites the Trajan Q1400 industrial carbide saw, a 14-in. dry cut metal saw that cuts without sparks, excessive noise, smell or heat buildup. Luke recalls a customer’s experience cutting angle iron for a cattle guard. “He cut it with an abrasive saw, threw it on the ground and the grass caught fire.” With this saw, that same customer can “cut the piece, put it down, weld it and be done.”

The Trajan Q1400 is four times faster than a bandsaw and is under $1,000, Luke continues. The customer who inspired this product “wanted a quick cut, inexpensive, and they didn’t want to burn their hand on the part after it was done because abrasive saws can both get the part incredibly hot and create a terrible burr—this does neither,” he says, so there’s no cooling, deburring or cleaning needed for parts before moving on to fit-up or painting. Users can achieve “a complete, workable finish.”

In addition to being able to handle metal projects in agricultural settings, the Trajan Q1400 saw is suited for the custom car and racecar industry.

Buy direct

In addition to blades, Sawblade.com sells parts for most major bandsaws and works with a paperless system that expedites orders. Ninety-five percent of customer orders go out the same day. “Even losing one day of productivity can have a drastic impact on a workshop,” Luke says.

“We sell blades. We sell machines. And we sell the parts for your machine. If you buy $2,000 a year in saw blades, you get a 20 percent discount on your parts, saving roughly $2,800 on average per year on replacement parts. And then we provide a video library that shows how to put on the parts, so you also save on labor.”

Sawblade.tv grew out of the company’s problem-solver mentality. “We have thousands of how-to videos,” Luke says, showing everything from how to install parts and properly set up saws to changing blades brushes or cutting specific materials.

“A lot of online companies think they can automate ordering,” but matching up material and size to a chart “doesn’t always tell the true story,” Luke says, noting that dynamics change if a customer is cutting on an old saw or if they are located in a warmer climate that requires a little more coolant. “We have a large call center to walk customers through their purchase.” There are a lot of intricacies “that you just can’t automate.”

Sawblade.com’s customer list is diverse, everything from aerospace manufacturers to ski resorts. “Primarily we sell to smaller shops that need good service and pricing. People use our blades to make everything from airplanes to national monuments.

“We’re trying to change industrial distribution,” Luke continues. “That is the end goal. We want people to go to a ‘buy-direct’ method. Buying direct makes the most sense.”