TS Blade choice

[Bob Boake]

have been reading about forrest ww blades in various reviews.

I was in the local wood crafters and asked the salesperson specifically about these blades for ripping. He goes to the display rack, pulls a dewalt blade out of the sleeve and says this is the one. To demonstrate why I should buy, he takes another blade out of the sleeve (forrest blade was sealed in pkg)and lightly taps the edge with a pen or metal screwdriver resulting in a soft ringing noise. then did same on the dewalt and no ringing, just a soft thud. This vibration dampening ability was supposed to make me want to purchase the dewalt.

Is this a legit test of a blade or just a sales trick learned from the dw rep? I have been using amana blades on rec of friend. He likes them for excellent quality of cut and gets lots of resharpenings.

[Scott Whiting]

In general thin kerf blades will ring and full kerf won't. That is because they are held at different tensions to keep from fluttering at operating rpm. I am not buying that as a sales technique. DeWalt does make one decent line of sawblades, I forget which series it is. If you are already using Amana and you are happy and that is what your saw shop stocks then why not stay with them?

[John Miliunas]

Seems like a pretty lame way to sell a blade. Don't get me wrong, I too have heard that some of the DeWalt blades are just fine and I'm NOT bashing them, but somehow I suspect that the DeWalt may have been "better", because there may be more markup in it! Amana has a splendid reputation for their blades and router bits, alike. If you're happy with them and get good results, I'd stick with it, unless the one you're using has reached the end of its useful life. Then you may want to try a different flavor. Eventually, I plan on trying out the WWII myself. For the time being, however, I've been very happy with my Systematic and, seeing as to how I have two of them, I think the WW may be a ways off. Also, FWIW, I find better and more consistent accuracy with a regular kerf, rather than the thin kerf. As mentioned, less deflection (I think, anyway.) Let us know how you make out with your buying decision. :cool:

[John Longwitz]

...are pretty darn good. Ditto on the Freud LU (full kerf) line.

[steve banks]

To throw my 2 cents in, I'm more than tickled pink with Jesada combo series blades and they won't break the bank like a Forrester.

[Ted Shrader]

Originally posted by steve banks
To throw my 2 cents in, I'm more than tickled pink with Jesada combo series blades and they won't break the bank like a Forrester.

Agree w/ Steve on this one. The Jesada blades offer a very smooth cut, long wear and reasonable price. I also have Freud full kerf 24T and 80T cross cut. The Jesada stays on the saw most of the time.

Ted

[Bart Goldberg]

are a good choice and a better buy then the Forrest. Not to knock Forrest - they are one of the best, but they are, in my opinion, overpriced. A while ago, Fine Woodworking did a review of saw blades and the Jesada blades were ranked very close to the Forrest blades, but for near half the cost.

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Going with the majority on this one. I have had nothing but excellent results with Jesada Blades. I have used a Forrest Blade that I recieved as a gift, and while it is an excellent Saw Blade, I would rank the Jesada Blades right up there with it. I also agree that the Forrest Blades are a bit on the pricey side. I believe that there are good and bad in almost every product, and to that end, I have some older Craftsman Blades that are outstanding as well. Properly set and sharpened, almost any blade can be made to perform very well, and some are just junk no matter what you do with them. For my money, the Jesada Line is tough to beat!

[Jason Roehl]

Originally posted by Scott Whiting
DeWalt does make one decent line of sawblades, I forget which series it is.

That would be the Series 60-Fine Finish blades. I have a 12" 96T XCut for my SCMS. Excellent blade so far, but I haven't really put it through the ringer. It was about $105 w/shipping, so it's a little cheaper than a similar Forrest, but I can't make a quality comparison because I've never used a Forrest blade on my SCMS.

Jason

[Ken Salisbury]

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"Nothing runs like a Deere"

AND "Nothing cuts like a:<IMG src="http://www.klsal.com/forrestblade.jpg">

Forrest blades are "unequalled" and worth every penny paid for them.