Shopsmith Forums

I agree with Ed. I just recently bought a Tenryu and am very satisfied. I have been a Freud fan for many years and all other blades in the shop are Freud. Both brands work equally well in my opinion. Between the two I would just get the best deal.
Paul

On the recommendation of a good friend I bought a Tenyru for my Hitachi 12” chop saw. It is less expensive than the one Gene recommends so probably a lower tier by the same company (I bought one called the Silencer 100 tooth - it has a blue non-stick coating.). I tend to switch out blades depending on the project, cheap on sale blades for pine/fir 2by cuts. The Tenyru has been great for hardwoods. I would have preferred a different hook angle, but with the hardwoods I always have a couple hold downs. I did have an Infinity 100 tooth which I had resharpened 3 times (the shop said there was NOT enough meat left on the tips for a fourth ). A neighbor swears by an Irwin Marathon blade on this Ridgid chop saw.
I’ll see how many cuts and resharpenings I get from this Tenyru, but so far it seems to do a great job at a lower price.

Be well,
Ben

I appreciate everyone replies but I decided to order the Forrest Chopmaster 80 tooth. I have no doubt that the Tenryu or the Freud are good blades, but I got to thinking, at my age and the amount of woodworking I do, this is... in all probability, the last blade I'll ever need to buy for my CSMS...so might as well get the best, and that seems to be the Forrest, but the real deciding factor was that Forrest is made in the USA, not Japan, China etc...I spent most of my life defending this country, maybe it was time to start support it too, ya Forrest cost a little more, but I feel better spending my my money at home as opposed to abroad...call me crazy. Once again thanks to all for your comment, appreciate it, well let you know how the blade fairs, I'm thinking probably be pretty good

GoNavy wrote:I appreciate everyone replies but I decided to order the Forrest Chopmaster 80 tooth. I have no doubt that the Tenryu or the Freud are good blades, but I got to thinking, at my age and the amount of woodworking I do, this is... in all probability, the last blade I'll ever need to buy for my CSMS...so might as well get the best, and that seems to be the Forrest, but the real deciding factor was that Forrest is made in the USA, not Japan, China etc...I spent most of my life defending this country, maybe it was time to start support it too, ya Forrest cost a little more, but I feel better spending my my money at home as opposed to abroad...call me crazy. Once again thanks to all for your comment, appreciate it, well let you know how the blade fairs, I'm thinking probably be pretty good

No you are not crazy. Thank you for your service. My wife and I have 75 years combined service (active duty and civilian) in the DOD.

You have not gone wrong with the Forrest blade. As you say they are made in the USA and they are as good as it gets. There sharpening service is exceptional. They will put your blade back to factory specs or tell you if they can't and the price is not that expensive.

GoNavy wrote:I appreciate everyone replies but I decided to order the Forrest Chopmaster 80 tooth. I have no doubt that the Tenryu or the Freud are good blades, but I got to thinking, at my age and the amount of woodworking I do, this is... in all probability, the last blade I'll ever need to buy for my CSMS...so might as well get the best, and that seems to be the Forrest, but the real deciding factor was that Forrest is made in the USA, not Japan, China etc...I spent most of my life defending this country, maybe it was time to start support it too, ya Forrest cost a little more, but I feel better spending my my money at home as opposed to abroad...call me crazy. Once again thanks to all for your comment, appreciate it, well let you know how the blade fairs, I'm thinking probably be pretty good

As a fellow vet, I appreciate your reasoning and, most certainly, your service. Thank you!
I'm sure you'll be quite happy with the Forrest's performance.