Forrest Woodworker blades - worth the money?

[Tyler Bancroft]

I'm looking at buying a Forrest Woodworker II blade to handle nothing but ripping – they're obviously quite pricey (~$175), but I'm willing to spend that if they're worth the money. Is there a better-performing blade in the same price range?

[Edwin Santos]

If I were doing nothing but ripping like you say, I would be buying a Freud Glue Line Rip blade for about $65.

Over the years, combination blades have lost their appeal for me. A good ripping blade and a good 60 tooth crosscut blade fill 95% of my needs. I have had good experience with Tenryu in addition to Freud.

[Julie Moriarty]

If I were doing nothing but ripping like you say, I would be buying a Freud Glue Line Rip blade for about $65.

Agree 100%. I own two WWII blades and both the thin and standard kerf Freud GLP blades. The latter works just as well as or better than the WWII. I've found using blades specifically designed for the task (rip, crosscut, plywood, laminate, etc) always produce better results than multi-tasking blades.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Forrest has never let me down, so I keep buying them. My company uses lots of blades, we've tried most, and I still keep Forrest in my personal saw. Freuds have taken over pretty much everything else, with a mix of several other brands.

One thing I do disagree with is "get two blades, one rip and one crosscut". I think that's hooey in most real world work. If I stopped and switched blades on my slider for example, every time I switched cuts, it would add hours of just blade changes. Nonsense, if your blade won't do both perfectly fine, you have the wrong blade. Forrest does make several combo blades that will cross and rip just fine. In my opinion a dedicated rip blade is half a grind, and I have never seen one preform better than a good Forrest WW2 combo. Now if you enjoy changing blades, go for it, but I prefer to just make stuff.

[Jay Gargiulo]

If you’re only doing ripping, buy a rip blade. The WWII is a combo blade and you’ll end up paying a premium for a feature (made for both rip and crosscut) you won’t use. Ridge Carbide makes nice blade ($120) with chunky teeth that can be resharpened many times, something that is not the case with Freuds. Infinity cutting tools also sells a rip blade for $50 that performs very well,

[Doug Colombo]

I have had a WWII for many years and love the blade. Forrest does a great job sharpening their blades returning them to just like the day you bought it. If all you are going to do is rip, then as others have said, a good rip blade may be the better way to go. With that said, I do more ripping than cross cutting and have not been disappointed with the quality of the cut from the WWII - no issues with glue ups at all.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have the Forrest Thin Kerf 20T 10" rip blade ($105). I use it on my Sawstop 3Hp and love it.

https://www.forrestblades.com/woodwo...eth-thin-kerf/

You didn't state the size of the blade you were looking for.

The 1/8" kerf Forrest 20T 10" rip blade is also ($105).

https://www.forrestblades.com/woodwo...eth-fast-feed/

[Prashun Patel]

I am a fan of the Freud glue line ripping blades. I rip and cross cut with a ripping blade. Finish quality of the cut is the least of the problems (for me) on a table saw or bandsaw. I am way more concerned with square and straight. That's why I only use ripping blades for everything now on the table saw. Even on cross cuts, the show face comes out perfectly. I cross cut with a sled or fenced miter gauge so tear out on the trailing edge can be controlled.

For my money, it's just easier to get a new Freud than to have to worry about sharpening a precious blade. That would also require down time which would annoy me.

[Tyler Bancroft]

The Woodworker II with 30 teeth is listed as a ripping blade, not a combo blade - are they overexaggerating its ripping ability? The ability to resharpen is part of why I'm looking at something other than Freud. I hadn't heard of Ridge Carbide, thanks for that. There seems to be a supply issue, though, and I'm in a bit of a time crunch.

[Curt Harms]

The Woodworker II with 30 teeth is listed as a ripping blade, not a combo blade - are they overexaggerating its ripping ability? The ability to resharpen is part of why I'm looking at something other than Freud. I hadn't heard of Ridge Carbide, thanks for that. There seems to be a supply issue, though, and I'm in a bit of a time crunch.

??? I've had Freud blades resharpened. I've also learned that sometimes a blade that feels dull really just needs to be cleaned with a suitable solvent.

[Mel Fulks]

Try POPULAR (brand) saws ,low cost high quality.

[Earl McLain]

Try POPULAR (brand) saws ,low cost high quality.

I've got a couple (a 10" cross-cut and a 7 1/4" x 40 or so that i use in my 10" table saw for segmenting). Small sampling, but both excellent blades.
earl

[Rob Luter]

I was on Amazon ordering a Wixey and noticed they had Freud blades on sale. I needed a version for flat bottom kerfs so I ordered their 24T HD Rip Blade. The price was right and anything I've ever bought from Freud has been exceptional. We'll see how it works.

[Randy Heinemann]

The Woodworker II with 30 teeth is listed as a ripping blade, not a combo blade - are they overexaggerating its ripping ability? The ability to resharpen is part of why I'm looking at something other than Freud. I hadn't heard of Ridge Carbide, thanks for that. There seems to be a supply issue, though, and I'm in a bit of a time crunch.

Seems like the implication from your comment is that Freud blades can't be resharpened. Freud blades certainly can be resharpened just like Forrest or any other premium blade. As for number of resharpenings I don't know that number but I'm sure it's multiple times for the Freud blade. Freud blades are economical (compared to Forrest) and they work well. I have used the Sawstop blade that cam with my Sawstop saw for years and even replaced it with a new Sawstop when I tripped the brake because it was even less expensive than a Freud blade and I get about the same quality cut.

[Mike Kees]

For anyone in commercial shops looking for blades check out Dimar or even better FS Tool. Both have solid true plates and massive carbide teeth that can be re-sharpened many times. FS Tool seem to last longer between sharpenings . I plan on replacing any blades that wear out with FS Tool from here on out. I have a Forrest WW 2 in my Contractor saw that has been cutting Cedar on high end decks/exterior finish work for the last few years. I had to see what all the Forrest hype was about. It is a good blade but I have many others that are just as good from other brands. Almost all of my blades are Industrial lines with a few freud's sprinkled in.