You don't have to spend a lot on a saw blade to get great results

Recently, I bought a Dewalt RAS that uses a 9" blade. As you might imagine, there aren't many 9" saw blades to be had, even fewer designed for a RAS or CMS. I paid $100 for the saw. As nice as the Forrest blade may be, I wasn't going to spend $175 for their blade, at least not until I knew the saw performed as it should. After a bunch of searching, I came across an 8-1/2" blade from Oshlun. This one:

Oshlun SBW-085060 8-1/2-Inch 60 Tooth Negative Hook Finishing ATB Saw Blade with 5/8-Inch Arbor for Sliding Miter Saws

It cost less than $33. What the heck, I'll try it. I got the saw setup today and gave it a go. WOW! It cut through plywood beautifully, splinter free top and bottom.

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Then I tried a 45 deg cut on hard maple, something my CMS is challenged to cut without leaving a smile.

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I'm impressed.

John

I ordered a new blade from my supplier and when it came I found it was a no name and made in China. I was not impressed but thought I had better give it a go before complaining and it was excellent, great finish on the cut and no feathering etc so it stayed on the saw.

I've tried a number of blades on my big circular saws, and the Oshlun's give the best cut regardless of being cheaper than many of the others. I'm not even using their highest tooth count blade on my 16-5/16" circular saw that they make and the cut looks like it came off a new Forrest blade on a table saw.

Freud Diablo blades are among a few items that I go to Home Depot for.

In 10" blades, the Delta 35-7657 is a top performer in my opinion. I consider the WWII to be over priced and over rated. Used to buy the 76-57's delivered to the door for less than twenty bucks each. Haven't checked Cripe Distributing lately to check and see if they are still are available and at what price. Back in the earlier part of the century, when Delta dropped Leitz as a supplier, I stocked up on blades at fire sale prices.

There's nothing wrong with going with a more modest priced blade if that fits the need or budget. The cuts should be good when they are sharp regardless. The potential trade-off long term is "how much carbide" is there which impacts how many times one can get the blade sharpened...some of the more premium blades do seem to have beefier carbide tips in that respect. For me where I might take advantage of a more modest priced blade is for a specialty cutting situation that's not something I do all that often as my normal blades seem to last me for decades as it is with a few sharpenings along the way. I happen to own an Olshun dado set that I picked up "unused but pre-owned" as an example. I can count on one hand the number of times I've used a dado set in the last two decades since I moved to the slider, but I wanted the capability in the shop if the need arrises.