Ceramic Saw Blades

Cutting carbon fiber with a metal-cutting hacksaw blade leaves a frayed edge that no amount of finishing will hide. The metal blade's teeth pull fibers up out of the resin matrix as the cut progresses; what looks like a clean cut at first becomes a fuzzy edge by the time you go to seat the part. Ceramic-style abrasive blades solve that problem by abrading the carbon rather than cutting it.

The 750.1CAR is a 12" abrasive blade designed for the 750B hacksaw frame. It's a 2-pack; cutting carbon is the kind of work where you want a backup blade in the toolbox, because if the first blade clogs partway through a cut, you don't want to stop and re-source mid-job.

How a ceramic-style blade actually cuts

Abrasive blades work by grinding the carbon away in fine particles rather than slicing through with teeth. The cut surface is left smooth and the fibers stay aligned in the resin matrix because nothing has pulled them up. The carbon's edge can be finished with a fine file or sandpaper for a polished result.

Two practical notes. First, carbon dust is not friendly: wear a mask, work in a ventilated space, and vacuum the dust rather than blowing it. The fibers are stiff and irritating on skin and lungs. Second, the abrasive blade is slower than a metal-cutting blade. Don't force it. Let the blade work; pushing harder doesn't speed the cut and does shorten the blade's life.

When to use it

• Cutting carbon steerers to length after a fork install
• Trimming carbon seatposts (verify the post's minimum-insertion before cutting)
• Cutting carbon handlebars to width
• Trimming a carbon TT-bar extension
• Any cut on a carbon component where the cut edge will be visible or where it needs to seat against another surface

For metal cuts (steel steerers, aluminum seatposts, brass cable-end caps), switch to the 24-TPI high-speed steel hacksaw blades 750.1B. The 750B hacksaw frame accepts either blade type.

Specs

• 12" / 300 mm length
• Ceramic-style abrasive cutting surface
• Compatible with 750B hacksaw frame
• 2-pack
• Article number: 750.1CAR

Built in Zreče, Slovenia

Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and is the official technical partner of multiple World Tour and downhill teams. The ceramic-blade option was added to the hacksaw line specifically as carbon-fiber bicycles moved from premium to mainstream. The 750B frame holds the blade at the tension a clean carbon cut requires; the blade's abrasive surface does the rest.

Pro tip from our mechanics

A carbon cut on a steerer or seatpost that goes wrong is hard to fix and expensive to replace. The right blade matters more than most mechanics realize until the first cut shows the difference. Our workshop hand tools guide walks through hacksaw blade selection and the rest of the cutting layer of a working shop: Workshop hand tools every bike shop needs →