High end table saw blade - which one to buy?

[Steve Demuth]

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.

Unfortunately, they are only available, at least as far as I have ever been able to find, in 12" / 300 mm format.

Don't imagine we'll see a SawStop version any time soon, even if a 10" becomes available- nowhere near aggressive enough to bury itself in aluminum- probably just slice through it coasting on armature momentum.

But, what an awesome blade.

[Ken Grant]

Trying to figure out which blade is "best" can be incredibly confusing, especially on these forums, where you have so many different options and opinions to wade through.

First of all, understanding what the different tooth grinds/configurations are, and what they do, will take some of the mystery out of blade shopping. I am sure most of you already know all this, but I will write it out anyway.

Here is a chart that gives a basic overview.


Rip blades usually have fewer teeth, and most of them have the flat top grind. The glue line rip blades have less side clearance and some kind of side grind, so they shouldn't leave as deep of saw blade marks, but they seem to burn easier for me. I joint everything before edge gluing anyway, so I opt for the standard rip blade.

The high atb blades will cut really nice and clean on both sides of plywood, but they will not stay sharp as long. These also work pretty good for ripping solid wood that is less then 1" thick.

Crosscut blades-These will generally be an ATB design, but the biggest thing to be aware of here is the difference between blades designed for a table saw/sliding able saw and blades for a chop saw.

The table saw blades should always have a positive rake angle, as it helps keep the wood pulled down against the table during the cut.

Chop saws, on the other hand, can sometimes try to 'lift' narrower pieces if the blade has a higher degree positive rake angle. For this reason, a lot of the chop saw blades designed for cutting crosscuts/miters have somewhere around a 0° rake angle. Blades for sliding miter saws and radial arm saws generally have around a 5° negative rake angle, and this is to keep the blade from pulling itself into the cut.

This is all pretty logical if you take a little time to look at your blade teeth and what is happening when it contacts the material you are cutting.

TCG Blades These are usually used for cutting things like double sided melamine, where you need a clean cut on both sides. I would not bother with these blades unless you have a specific application that requires it.

Thin kerf The kerf is just the width of the cut. Thin kerf blades take less power to run then full kerf, but at the expense of being less stable. They are also usually cheaper to buy then their full kerf counterparts. I like them in saws 3hp and under, especially when ripping thicker stock.
I like thicker blades in my miter saw, because I have found the thin kerf ones more prone to 'walking,' especially when cutting miters in wide, hard material.

There is more to saw blades then what is written above, but this should get you started.

Which brand to buy? I am not even going to touch that one!
If you pick the correct tooth design for your application, and buy from a reputable manufacturer, chances are you will be happy with your purchase.

[Matt Tebo]

I’ve been using Royce-Ayr saw blades for several years now. They are excellent blades, and their customer support is second to none. I’ve also tried the Freud premier fusion blade, it is a great blade too.

[Derek Cohen]

There is a recent FWW review of combination blades here (I suspect that you need to be an online member): http://www.finewoodworking.com/2018/...ination-blades. The Freud Premier Fusion, Forrest Woodworker II, and Ridge Carbide came out on top. Tenryu did not place.

Without re-reading through the recommendations in this thread, I do not recall anyone commenting on the importance of setting up the tablesaw. A blade is only as good as the alignment of the tablesaw/fence.

On my newish Hammer K3, I have Leuca 24-tooth rip and Leuca 96-tooth crosscut blades. I am very happy with them. I cannot say how they compare with other blades on this tablesaw.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Dave Sabo]

My experience is similar to a few others here.

Ridge Carbide
Frued Fusion
WWII *

Are all top notch blades. The asterisk on the wwII is because I’ve dropped them from my rotation. Thirty years ago and beyond ; they were the gold standard. Today, their quality control has deteriorated , or they’ve cut corners and the blades they send today just don’t measure up. I’ve had two in the last ten years that are unacceptable to me, so no more. Ditto on their sharpening service. Used to be fantastic. Today it’s a crap shoot or worse. Which equals a big waste of time and money.

I suppose it’s possible that the the others have simply surpassed them and have moved the goalpost, but I doubt it. If your coming from a BORG blade, or a decent blade - the WWII will look awesome. Compared head to head against other premium blades is another story.

Which makes me scratch my head at the magazine test ? Does Forrest send them a “special” blade , or one out of the pile headed for a dealer? The ones you and I get. Those just don’t yield the same results I see in the advertorials.

Ridge for for me if the cut really counts, but the Fusion is hard to beat for value when I pick them up for $60. And what goes on if I don’t know the material’s provenance. I’ve beggered up a Fusion on hidden pin also.

[Carlos Alvarez]

I just swapped in my re-sharpened red Freud rip blade and did a bunch of 1" Wenge. It is SOOOO clean, so quiet, and smooth.

[Curt Harms]

My used 1999 Unisaw came with a combo Everlast blade. I had it sharpened locally and wow does that thing cut and leave a great finish.

Lots of makes of blades that don't advertise to hobbyists; Everlast and Skarpaz are two I know of.

If I were in the market for another T.S. blade - I'm not, have 2 Freud F40s, predecessor to the P410 - I'd also look at Infinity tools. Carbide processors sells Oshlun, Tenryu and other brands. They appear to sell to industry and have a money back guarantee. The owner (?) used to post here, haven't seen him recently.

Edit: here's another thought. A flat tooth grind rip blade is handy for making cuts where the kerf bottom needs to be truly square. Most blades are either ATB or Triple Chip and don't produce a truly square kerf. There are times such as cutting a kerf to reinforcing a miter when ATB or TC blade kerfs just don't make it.

[Nick Mazzino]

I ended up picking up the Tenryu gold medal combo blade about 2 weeks ago and have been using it daily in my shop. It was 94$ and I have been extremely happy with it. It leaves a beautiful smooth finish on both rip and crosscut of some cherry, maple, and walnut I have been cutting.

Keep in mind, I am very new to woodworking and this is the only high end blade I have ever bought so my opinion could be skewed. But, I am very happy with it.
I also picked up Tenryu's cross cut miter blade and have been very happy with that as well.

I do have some thicker maple and hickory I will be ripping this summer. I may pick up a dedicated rip blade for that.

Thanks for all of your help!

[Nick Decker]

I've been tempted by that Tenryu blade, myself. I've heard good things about it, but was curious about how it didn't figure into Fine Woodworking's ratings. Maybe they don't advertise with FWW?

[Rod Sheridan]

I've been tempted by that Tenryu blade, myself. I've heard good things about it, but was curious about how it didn't figure into Fine Woodworking's ratings. Maybe they don't advertise with FWW?

Lots of blades didn't make it into their testing, FS Tools is another.............Regards, Rod.

[Morey St. Denis]

Regarding the recent FWW April 2018 issue review of 10" combination blades, be aware that sadly it was arbitrarily limited to exactly 40 tooth, uniformly spaced, full 1/8" wide kerf, carbide tipped blades only. The Irwin Marples (made in Italy) product, which I find to be a very fine value in a combination blade, was not included because they employ 50 teeth for the same cost or less than the competition. Irwin also boasts the "Blue Armor" low friction coating that really holds up to extended wear, actually remains affixed to the blade and fully effective over a long life, as does the identical Blue Armor coating on all their recent Marples hand saws. The Marples is configured with 4 ATB teeth and a Raker (non-uniformly pitched, 4ATB+R) preceded by ten deep gullets for enhanced chip removal and smooth 0.105" kerf ripping. I'm convinced, had it been included in the testing, it likely would have fared especially well against their "Best Overall" Freud Premier Fusion, Ridge TS2000 & Forrest WW II, likely also earning a "Best Value" ranking.

[Terry Kelly]

I’ve used Delta,Dewalt,H.O. Schumacher....I’ve read some really good things about Ridge Carbide blades and Woodpeckers has some on sale so I figured I’ll try one.....

[Warren Lake]

Every company has a number of blades, at least one have blades made in different countries. If they a blade that shines at one operation it doesnt mean their other blades for different operations shine, another manufacturer might make a better blade for that function. They make one blade that is outstanding for ripping and another brand has a better combination blade than they make.

Rod pointed out the most important thing, having different blades, different blades for different functions. I can rip oak with a combination blade by the best manufacturer then change and put on a Crapmaster rip blade and be better off with less resistance than the combination blade. If I leave the combination blade it will likely dull down faster. The one blade concept is fairy tale stuff at least if you do custom work. Changing blades is no big deal and there is hardly any other aspect of this craft that is that easy.

[Lenny Howard]

I keep a Forrest Woodworker II on my Grizzly 690 for 95% of my cuts. I have a Freud rip blade and 50 tooth combination as well. On my slide compound I use the Freud 80 tooth.

[Julie Moriarty]

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

I have a couple of WWII blades and it's been a love/not-so-much love relationship. I'm an advocate of using the right tool for the job and struggled with the concept of using a multi-purpose blade. I have blades for plywood, melamine, general ripping, glue line ripping and crosscutting, in both standard and thin kerf. Changing the blades never bothered me.

I recently sent out several TS blades for sharpening and have fallen back in love with the newly sharpened WWII. Maybe serious like is a better description. Most often the TS is used for plywood and ripping. And for ripping, the WWII does a great job, though not quite as good as a glue line rip blade of the same sharpness. But the difference between Forrest and Freud or CMT is, it seems, the Forrest blades hold their edge a bit longer. No scientific proof, just a general sense from thinking back over the years.