Question on a Forrest Woodworker 2 saw blade

Forrest is a good blade, but I pefer Freud and Dewalt blades.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

Hey Rick….get ready for all the replies…...a lot of lumberjocks swear by Forrest blades.

-- Don, Pittsburgh

Worth every penny, especially if you care for it. This is an excellent saw blade for the money.

I would say I’ve bought several so I know from experience, but I am still on my first blade, going on eight years.

I have two. I thing they are very good.

-- Bruce from Central New York

I have primarily Forrest blades, although I have CMT too. Both work very well.

-- Wayne - Plymouth MN

robdew—wow- eight years—that’s a long time on a saw blade. But I learned one thing a long time ago—if you take care of your equipment, it’ll take care of you. Regular maintance on saw blades is a must. Just like everything else

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

The WWII is by far the best door stop I have in the shop. I also have the Duraline HI A/T standing by as a backup door stop, however the WWII seems to be holding its own.

I tried Freud a couple of years ago and will never use anything else. If it moves in my shop and Freud has a cutter for it, then that’s what you will find on that machine. If it’s not Freud, then it is probably CMT.

-- I don't make mistakes, only design changes....www.dgmwoodworks.com

I have one Forest blade I have used for 20 years on my radial arm saw and only had to sharpen it once. On my table saw I use Freud, primarily because they are less expensive and does almost as good a job.

-- Les B, Oregon

it sounds like you can really get a lot of milage outof the Forrest. But you can do the same with the others,also. I’ve never had a saw blade to last for 20 years. Sounds good to me. Rick.

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

Rick, as Don said some of us swear by Forrest. I have their complete line of blades and have them on all my saws. But I have had mine sharpened more frequently than Rob or Les. Pricey yes, but I feel they are worth the money. The blades have gotten excellent reviews in Wood Magazine’s tool reviews. Their sharpening service, for saw blades at least, is excellent with good turn around times.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Rick – It’s never as simple as most of us would prefer. It’s important to note that Freud, CMT, and Delta all have more than one series of saw blade….Forrest only has one (a premium line), so people rarely compare the Forrest “entry level” to the Delta, Freud, CMT entry level, if you get what I mean. Freud, CMT, and even Delta also all have premium blades that are arguably as good as the Forrest WWII, as does Ridge Carbide, Tenryu, Infinity, Amana, and likely others. It’s also worth noting that a saw setup that’s not quite spot on will mask the benefits of a higher precision blade, so it’s easy to get skewed results without even knowing it. And sometimes we just plain get a bad apple, and that’s especially annoying when we’ve spent a good buck on them….those should be exchanged BTW.

I like my Forrest WWII quite a lot, but I also like the others just as well depending on what I need to do. Not even all the general purpose blades are completely comparable…some are stronger in some areas and weaker in others, so which is best is partly subjective based on your saw and wants, but is also dependent on the specific task at hand. They’re all capable of glue ready edges, some rip a little cleaner, some rip a little faster, some are a little better in ply and crosscuts, some leave a shinier edge, some are quieter, some feed more easily, etc. What’s important to you?

What saw do you own, and what types of things do you cut most?

p.s…..I used to be “Dustmight” on another forum!

knotscott- Like I said in my subject matter, I’ve ran Freud, CMT, Delta,etc premium blades for years, and wouldn’t give any of them up. I mainly run a Freud 10×80T ATB w/5 degree hook on my radial arm saw(I have that I switch out), and about the same on my miter saw. But on my table saw, I usually run a Freud 10×40T Hi ATB Premier Fusion, or a CMT premium 10×50 T. I try all of them depending on the job at hand I’m doing.
I build custom furniture most of the time, and have found these to be great.
Was just trying to copare apples and oranges.
I have a 2009 Delta Unisaw w/ Biesemyer fence and 52” rip capasity that I just got about 4 months ago. I have a “85 Craftsman t.s. w/ belt drive, 3 hp. that I bought new, and installed a Delta Precision SawGuide rail and fence system on it about 10 years ago. It is dead-on accurate. It is backed up to my Delta, and I use it to cut rabbits and dados. I run the Freud 8” dado set on it pretty much.

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

The only other blade I know of that has a similar configuration as the Fusion is the Infinity Super General, which is the cleanest cutting of any of the general purpose blades I’ve tried. The WWII will likely rip a bit more efficiently than the Fusion or Super General, but it’s not likely that you’ll get cleaner cuts with one. The WWII does come in a 30T configuration that’s otherwise identical to the 40T version, and it’s darn difficult to tell the cuts aparts, but the 30T is a noticeably more efficient ripper….that one fills a niche that very few blades do.

The Ridge Carbide TS2000 is very similar to the WWII 40T but has thicker carbide. Plus, like the Forrest, it’s available in full and thin kerf, and is made in the USA. Holbren sells for ~ $81 shipped with a 10% discount code that he offers to some forums “woodnet10”, “BT310”, “SMC10”.

The Infinity Combomax is about the best 50T ATB/R blade I’ve tried, and has a remarkably similar configuration to the CMT 10×50T, which I have not tried. The CMT 40T GP blades is more similar to the WWII…ironically, that’s one of the few that I had issues with and returned it for something else…a DW7640 IIRC. Infinity has two higher tooth count Hi-ATB designs. The 60T (010-060) is outstanding IMO, but I haven’t tried the 80T (010-080)...no reason to think it won’t be near world class.

The old DeWalt series 60 DW7657 had a similar configuration to the WWII, and sold at a bargain price of ~ $50. I believe that blade has morphed into the current Delta Industrial 35-7657…not sure it’s exactly the same anymore because it’s country of origin switched from the UK to the USA. I tried the DW7657 a couple of years ago and was impressed with it’s value. I just put a Delta 35-7657 on the saw today, but did not get the chance to cut anything with it yet. The DW7640 50T ATB/R is also a terrific all around blade that has become the Delta 35-7640, and also switched from being made in the UK to the USA since B&D bought Pentair. Both the old series 60 DWs and current Delta line have been selling real cheap on Ebay lately….nice opportunity for someone who’s bargain hunting.

The Tenryu Gold Medal GM25540 is another standard 40T ATB blade that’s similar to the WWII, but is only available in one mid kerf width of 0.111”, and is made in Japan. Their RS25550 Rapid Series ATB/R 50T is fairly comparable to the Freud LU84…very nice blade at ~ $45 from Holbren.

Speaking of bargains, the Oshlun line (formerly Avenger, now made in China) is surprisingly well made, and is available with the above mentioned Holbren discount for the grand total of ~ $25 to your door….not quite WWII caliber, but good enough for most general purpose work.

The Amana Tool line is their best line AFAIK (hard to tell sometimes). Made in Israel, heavy duty carbide tips, looks very industrial, etc. I’ve tried the 20T RB1020, the 50T ATB/R 610604, and the 60T ATB 610600. All excellent blades, usually available at a good price. None necessarily eclipses the comparable Infinity, Ridge Carbide, and Forrest versions, but they’re very close, can be resharpened a bunch, and are often less expensive.

HTH…