High end table saw blade - which one to buy?

[John Sincerbeaux]

Wanna enlighten us on those ‘high end’ blades?

Most of the pro’s on this sight seem to swear by Kanefusa blades. They are made in Japan and they cost around $200.

At the stratosphere of “High End”, for the price of apx. 5 Forrest WW2 blades, you can buy an AKE “Super Silent” diamond coated blade. It is super thin (requires a super thin riving knife), super quite, and will stay sharp 20 times longer than conventional blades.
I got mine from Martin. Felder also sells them under a slightly different name.... “Silent Power”. Check them out on YouTube.

[John Sincerbeaux]

Here’s a few pics:

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[Mike Cutler]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I've never used a Forrest.

I really like CMT blades.

Robert
I like them too. Never had any issues with them.
I've been using the CMT's for many years now, at least twenty. I think I have four of them in various configurations.
It is time to send them out for sharpening though.

[Joe Calhoon]

Most of the pro’s on this sight seem to swear by Kanefusa blades. They are made in Japan and they cost around $200.

At the stratosphere of “High End”, for the price of apx. 5 Forrest WW2 blades, you can buy an AKE “Super Silent” diamond coated blade. It is super thin (requires a super thin riving knife), super quite, and will stay sharp 20 times longer than conventional blades.
I got mine from Martin. Felder also sells them under a slightly different name.... “Silent Power”. Check them out on YouTube.

John, good to know those are rebadged AKE. I had an AKE crosscut blade on my old Martin T75 and still use it on the T72. It may have one more sharpening in it, 30 years old now. Best crosscut blade I have used although I have not tried a Kanafusa crosscut blade. I run Kanafusa on the slider for both crosscuting and ripping solid wood. Nice not to change blades all the time. It is good for most joinery operations we do on the saw.

[scott spencer]

Any of the general purpose combo blades have limitations with ripping efficiently in thicker materials and quality of cut in ply/fine crosscuts. Decent separates will outperform at both ends of the spectrum. So my question is why pay a premium for performance with such limitations? The Delta Industrial 35-7657 is on closeout for ~ $30 shipped, and will give remarkably similar results as a top grade 40T WWII, Gold Medal, or TS2000, while leaving funds for a decent rip and crosscut/ply blade.

[David Kumm]

How well the saw is tuned has as much impact on the cut as what quality blade is used. True up the arbor and flanges and eliminate the vibration and you will see an improvement in any blade. I've ripped 4.5" Oak with a combo blade and while not ideal, one run over the jointer and life is good. It is very seldom that I need to change blades to increase the quality of the cut. Dave

[lowell holmes]

I have a 10" fifteen year old Forrest Woodworker II in my 10" Delta contractors saw. They are both going strong.
For what it's worth, I run my saw on a 220 volt circuit.

[Jim Andrew]

I have a Forrest ww2 blade and it is not my favorite. Found a deal on a pair of blades, CMT a rip blade and a 60 tooth crosscut blade set at Menards for 29$, took the blades home, they worked so well, I went back and bought 2 more sets. They were on sale, regular price is 49$. Down side is you have to change blades whenever you go from ripping to crosscutting.

[Mike Cutler]

Down side is you have to change blades whenever you go from ripping to crosscutting.

Nah, no need to change blades, you just need a second table saw.

[Mike Null]

I had a WWII and it was the best blade I ever used. I did have a Freud 80 tooth laminate blade which worked well for specialty item but the Forrest is the one I'd buy again.

[Cary Falk]

I have CMT, Forrest, Onsurud, etc. I have a stack of the Delta/Dewalt blades that were mentioned several times from Cripe. The Dewalt/Delta blade is on my saw most of the time. I used to use a combo blade for everything. I now swap between combo, rip and crosscut.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Hi all,

I have a 2003 Unisaw I just recently bought and am finalizing setting up my first wood shop.
And a porter cable 10" non-sliding miter saw. I would like to upgrade the miter saw in the future.

I have been going back and forth on which blade to buy for my Unisaw. I originally was going to get a rip and a cross cut blade. But, talking to someone that has been doing woodworking for some time recommended just getting the Forrest Woodworker II 40T all purpose blade. I would really like to have an all purpose blade instead of 2 blades.

I was thinking of getting a top of the line all purpose for my table saw and then a fairly good crosscut blade for my miter saw (around 50-70$).

Anyone have any inputs on the Woodworker II or miter saw cross cut recommendations?

Thanks all!

Although I am at woodworking for three decades I was using only popular blades in my table saw... I am familiar with brands like Irwin, DeWalt, Makita and Bosch - the two last ones usually are the best ones... up to last years when after some research I decided to try Freud Professional 10-inch blades. It is night to day comparison. I will not have intention to look back, actually I have purchased two more blades from them for my table saw and went to Diablo series for my portable DeWalt saw.

For me they allowed me to reach the nirvana! I am plenty happy with them - IMO the best trade off cost by benefit.

All the best.

[Rich Engelhardt]

They recommended a Diablo for cross-cut miter saw blade. I am looking for a good 10" miter saw blade around 50-60$. Any thoughts on these?

I run a Freud D1040X Diablo 10" 40T ATB General Purpose blade in my 10" DeWalt non-slider CMS. It's been giving me glass smooth cuts for the last 4 plus years- about $30 give or take @ the Brog..

[Mike Shields]

Forrest woodworker.

When someone who sharpens blades for a living tells you your blade is "a great blade", well then I'm convinced even more.

[lee cox]

I have an old Unisaw with a 3hp newer motor. I use a Freud Industrial Cabinetmakers crosscut blade and a Freud Industrial 24T Rip blade. It is easy to change blades. This seems to do what I need. It even cuts plywood nicely. The rip blade goes as fast as you can push it ripping.

I had a Freud combo blade in a Delta Contractor saw before my Unisaw which I did not like. It made a funny noise running.

I ordered one of the Detla blades listed. I thought I would use it for untrusted wood which might have nails in it. And a back up blade.