Forrest Woodworker blades - worth the money?

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Jim, I recently bought a Makita 12" SCMS. With it I bought a 12" Forrest Chopmaster. I have two of 10" from my old SCMS and was always impressed how they cut silky smooth, with no chipout at the end of the cut. But right out of the box, the 12" Chopmaster was leaving substantial chipout at the end of the cut.

The other day I had to cut some wood that's hard on the cutters so I switched to the Makita blade that came with the saw. I was very surprised to see it cut smoother than the Chopmaster and with almost no chipout. I'm still scratching my head on that one.

Julie, some Makita crosscut blades are fantastic. They even go on sale for $30 or so occasionally. I do not own a chopmaster because the Makita crosscuts are so good.

[Dwayne Watt]

I have been riding the Forrest train for a long while and believe it was money well spent (WWII). I have several used in rotation with a couple needing sharpening again. I also have a Ridge Carbide specialty blade (flat top grind) that cuts very very well so by extension I suspect their ATB combo blades would not disappoint.
All that said, these sort of threads tend to be much the same line of thought as oil brand / oil change topics on automotive forums. Nobody's right and everybody's wrong (gee, that sounds like a 1960's song).

[Rob Luter]

I have been riding the Forrest train for a long while and believe it was money well spent (WWII). I have several used in rotation with a couple needing sharpening again. I also have a Ridge Carbide specialty blade (flat top grind) that cuts very very well so by extension I suspect their ATB combo blades would not disappoint.
All that said, these sort of threads tend to be much the same line of thought as oil brand / oil change topics on automotive forums. Nobody's right and everybody's wrong (gee, that sounds like a 1960's song).

I think in this case everyone is right. Needs are subjective. We are all looking for something a little different. A hobbyist like myself doesn't have the same needs as a guy running a production operation. As long as you're getting the results you want at an expense level you're happy with, it's a win.

[Joe Hendershott]

My dad used Forrest blades for years and so I did as well. I have had good results with them and cannot complain, although they do seem to dull quickly.

With my cabinet saw I always swapped blades out when ripping and then cross cutting. As stated though, if all you do is rip then get a blade made for that job.

Now with my slider, which takes a little more effort, I hardly ever change blades. After another member here suggested Tenryu blades I tried one and have been very impressed. Made in Japan. I think if the blades are sharp you have cut just about anything. It's how long they keep an edge that matters. I've ripped hundreds of feet of 8/4 cherry with that 60 tooth Tenryu and then went right to cutting up 20 sheets of cherry ply and it's all perfect. I do use the scoring blade on sheet material which helps but that blade has held up well.

[Jim Dwight]

Popular thread. I'll add my 2 cents worth. I have never owned a Forest blade and probably never will. I have Infinity, CMT, DeWalt, and Freud blades. The biggest dud of the group is an Infinity ripping blade with 24 teeth. It doesn't have a flat top design and doesn't rip wood with problematic grain as well as a less sharp Freud. The Infinity 50 tooth all around full kerf blade is on the saw at the moment and has been doing great in 3/4 and 1 inch hardwood for the dresser I'm making. If it starts to struggle on my 1.75hp PCS, a thin kerf Freud will go on.

I had a freud 50 tooth sharpened by Ridge carbide and it came back better than new. All the reviews I've seen on them were very positive. But I'll probably never buy one of them either. A Freud at half the price does what I need so why spend twice as much?

I have never purchased a Freud blade that I was unhappy with and I've owned a lot of Freud blades. I hope they come up with a 165mm blade for my DeWalt track saw and I'll probably add another one. The 160mm works but I loose a little depth capability. Their Diablo brand is their cheap line but they cut well and seem to require less hp than most. The teeth are small and seem inconsistent with resharpening but if you do it early before they get damaged you probably could. But resharpening may cost as much as a new Diablo. I've mostly used their professional line blades that cost $50-75 and can be resharpened. But I rarely resharpen them either. It's too easy to just buy another. I have both thin kerf and full kerf blades. Thin kerf in general (like the Diablo but also the thin kerf professional blades) do not cut as long as a full kerf and have smaller teeth less consistent with sharpening (at least in my mind). But saws with little motors like my PCS cut a lot better in problematic wood with a thin kerf. I keep one in both 50 tooth and 24 teeth available. But I've been really happy with a thin kerf 40 tooth Fusion blade too.

My bottom line is lots of people make good blades but for the money it is hard to beat a Freud. Their line is so large you can find one for just about any need and all the ones I've used have been good blades. I'm not saying that a Ridge or possibly a Forest won't be sharper out of the box but the Freud will cut well and do a lot of work at a high quality level.

[Ron Selzer]

I liked the Freud blades back in the 80's then tried a Forrest blade and never looked back. All Forrest now. As a hobby shop I can afford to run the blade I am comfortable with with out worrying about what it costs. The blade is cheapest part of the tool.
Wood, finish materials are way more part of the cost than the saw blades
Ron

[Warren Lake]

have blades from most companies and they all work. Main thing dont use anyones combo blade if you are ripping, pick the right blade for what you are doing. No time to read this now but Kanafusa should be in some of these pages if it is not.

Ill trust a full time guy running tons of material on a constant basis for years for his opinion. Andrew used to post all the time on the canadian site and maybe here a bit. He was very impressed with their blades and I know i had been told years before. I asked an older guy top company once and his answer was no one company makes the best blade but rather each have ones that shine. I had asked him about Kanafusa and ill still have to digest that answer as he did not sell them. Everyone salesman is a salesman. If he had a shop or been in the trenches for 30 of 40 years id trust the answer more.

If they are not in the pages here id look them up for some reviews.

[Andrew Gibson]

...The biggest dud of the group is an Infinity ripping blade with 24 teeth. It doesn't have a flat top design and doesn't rip wood with problematic grain as well as a less sharp Freud...

Hi Jim. That is odd to hear. I have been with Infinity 7 years now and both of our ripping blades should have had a true flat top grind in that time. Feel free to reach out to our customer service team if you are inclined.