All saw blades are not created equal and the best woodworkers will purchase after market, quality carbide saw blades to replace the factory blades that come with their tools. When choosing a saw blade, you must consider the material that will be cut, the type of machine to be used for cutting and the desired outcome. Features to look for in a quality saw blade include expansion slots, hardness and durability, carbide teeth and engineering.

Expansion slots:
Choose a saw blade manufacturer who uses only the very best steel in their blades. Steel should be tested for consistency, tensile strength and hardness. Saw blades should incorporate some type of laser cut expansion slot so they do not warp or twist when they heat up while working. Amana incorporates a copper plug into their saw blades which reduces the turbulent noise created by the saw blade while it is being operated.

Is your blade hard?
Another feature to look for in a steel carbide saw blades is the HRC rating. HRC is the Rockwell method of measuring the hardness of materials or resistance to penetration. A high quality saw blade such as the Tenryu for example, will have a HRC rating of 40.

Thickness of Cut
Saw blades should be flat and true, distortion free, and have uniform thickness. The Kerf measurement (width of teeth) on a blade is what actually determines how wide of a cut you will make into your material. Kerf measurement is key to uniform thickness. The width of the saw plate itself determines the amount of relief you have between the material and the blade. The manufacturing process of a quality saw blade will include using special Hammers to Level and tension a saw blade. When the tensioning is within tolerance, the saw blade teeth will be ground until each is perfectly honed. A high quality carbide saw blade such as the Tenryu or Amana will cost around $100 but will cut more accurately, will not leave saw marks and will last a lifetime if maintained.

Why carbide teeth?
Carbide is composed of cobalt and tungsten. This combination results in sharper cutting edges, longer lasting tips and greater impact resistance on the teeth of the saw blade. The number of teeth will have an effect on the cutting action of the saw blade. More teeth will result in a smoother but slower cut and also a decrease in the distance between each tooth. This distance reduction will have the effect of reducing the size of the gullets (valley between the teeth), making chip ejection from that space more difficult. According to Oldham-USA.com, "This is where the design of the gullet, shoulder, tooth style and hook angles become of the utmost importance. Placing more teeth in the same amount of space can only be successful if everything matches perfectly."

Using the proper saw blade for the material you are cutting and maintaining your carbide tipped saw blades will result in a lifetime of quality material cutting fun. 

Resources:
www.toolking.com
www.tenryu.com
www.amanatool.com
www.oldham-usa.com
www.madeleycabinetry.com

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