Tenryu and Leitz

[Patrick Walsh]

I cant figure out does Tenryu make a full/true 1/8 kerf 10" blade?

If not what are peoples thoughts on Leitz blades. I don't know where i can purchase them or if i can maybe purchase direct.

Is there any advantage to a industrial blade vrs the hobby lines both manufactures offer.

I need the full gamete rip blade, general purpose, fine cut and dado stack.

I don't mind spending money on blades that will last me a long long time.

[Mark Carlson]

Tenryu introduced one a couple of years ago. I got mine from here:

http://justsawblades.com/ten/combination_saw_blades.html

I pretty much agree with this review: http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/articles/tenryu-gold-medal-blade/

~mark

[glenn bradley]

I have Carbide Processors make all my blades 1/8" kerf (stock is around .131"). It makes my workflow so much easier with jigs, fences, ZCI's and sleds.

[scott spencer]

Tenryu does make a full kerf (0.125") version of the Gold Medal blade now...Tenryu GM-25540-2. Originally it was just the mid kerf width of 0.111". Leitz and Tenryu both offer a very wide range of blades and multiple lines. Leitz makes blades in Germany and China. Tenryu makes blades in Japan and China.

In many cases the premium consumer blades (Infinity, Forrest, Ridge Carbide, Tenryu Gold Medal, etc) make cleaner cuts than industrial in a hobby setting where you make a couple of cuts at a time. They tend to have tighter side clearances that give a more polished edge....those do great in comparison tests. That's great for guys like me who make a few cuts, then think about the next step before making another cut. The blades have time cool down between cuts. Industrial settings tend to run the blades nearly non-stop where heat is a major factor, so the blades tend to have more generous side clearances to avoid over heating and premature break down of the carbide. That type of design sometimes lead to slightly more tool marks, but are still capable of making a very suitable cut with the right blade for the task. Some industrial blades tend to have more carbide, but that's not always the case.

What's best is always a matter of what your usage and objectives are, including what saw you have, and what you'll be cutting. I've tried the vast majority of brands available....multiples of many... For my uses as a hobbyist, none have performed better than the Infinity blades. Many are the best of each type of blade I've tried, and their Dadonator is amazing. They also offer package deals with some nice discounts.

[Kent A Bathurst]

In many cases the premium consumer blades make cleaner cuts than industrial in a hobby setting where you make a couple of cuts at a time.

Yeahbut........

It all depends, on the expertise of the blade provider. I have extensive experience in circular saw blades in an industrial setting: 14" dia., .090 plate, .120 kerf. Running at 120 LFPM butt-to-butt non-stop for an entire 8-hour shift. 4 blades splitting 2 x 8 SYP [molder heads cleaning up the edges, top, and bottom].

Not my any means a glue-line rip. But - a very good quality cut nonetheless. Typically changed blades after each shift - unless something went whacko.

However - do the math, and you only have .015 overhang between the edge of the teeth and the plate, so you don't have a "lot" [relatively speaking] of sharpening cycles before you retooth. We ran that blade configuration because any bigger kerf and we could not get the same yield out of a 2 x 8, but could not go below .090 plate.

Tried a few different schemes to get the plates down to .078 - had to throw in the towel - was not gonna work in that environment - that would have let us get the same finished dimension splitting less expensive 2 x 6.....but less footage through the saw - all driven by the market for 2 x 5 v. 2 x 8 on any given day.............

[Bill Neely]

Tenryu does make a full kerf Gold Medal.

[ian maybury]

I've just based on good reports started using Leitz in the UK for sharpening and as a source for new blades, and know nothing about the US. Only a 12in universal and a sharpening so far, but both very satisfactory - marginally better for example than a new Felder Silent Power equivalent (also good) in terms of ability to make clean cross suts in cheap ply. (admittedly pushing the envelope a bit) Service was very good, and nice people too - no sign of any lack of care because i was a small private user.

Leitz have some different grades of blade and carbide, so it's worth investigating carefully before choosing. (can't remember the one i bought, it wasn't the basic one) There was a suggestion that i could expect longer life than from an off the shelf high end hobby blade, but time will tell on that. They seemingly make a point of doing all their own grinding in house on their own machine, and said they take care not to remove too much when re-sharpening. They were not abnormally expensive. (Mailing from Ireland is the bigger issue for me)

Based on positive reports on the Felder Owners Group site I would have tried Tenryu, but they are not distributed here.