apparatus for sharpening a combination saw blade , the apparatus including a selector for manual input of numbers of cutting teeth and non - cutting tooth spaces on the blade , a counter for counting the number of teeth and tooth spaces moved to a grinding station , the grinding station having a grinding head disposed therein and mounted on a first reciprocating lift mechanism activated by a cam to sharpen each of the blade teeth serially , and a second lift mechanism adapted to operate in response to a signal from the counter to locate the grinding head out of a grinding position when the grinding station is occupied by a non - cutting tooth space , and to place the grinding head under control of the first lift mechanism when the grinding station is occupied by a cutting tooth .