Comments on: Freud Fusion vs. Forrest WWII Blades: Which High End Blade is the Best?

By: Scott Spencer

Scott Spencer — Sat, 23 May 2009 20:32:19 +0000

Even though the Freud Fusion and WWII are both considered 40T general purpose blades, they’re very different from each other. Which is better is really best determined by what you’ll be doing. The Fusion has a 40T “Hi-ATB” grind (30° bevel) with a double side grind. The WWII has a 40T “ATB” grind (15° bevel) and a single side grind. The Hi-ATB grind slices more cleanly across fibers than the standard ATB, and hence offers cleaner crosscuts and better sheetgood performance, while the standard ATB grind offers more efficient ripping in thicker materials. Both have low side clearances, but the dual side grind puts more carbide to the edge of the cut leaving a more polished look. A glassy edge is often desirable, but is not without potential downsides….if the feedrate is too slow, the “burnished” edge becomes a “burned” edge more easily, so is not necessarily the best choice for thicker ripping. Also, the sharp tips of a Hi-ATB are a bit more prone to abrasion than the standard ATB, so may dull a little faster. Both are great blades and have their place. The Infinity Super General (010-044) is the only other blade I know of that has similar geometry to the Fusion. The WWII is more similar to the Ridge Carbide TS2000, Infinity General (010-040), Tenryu Gold Medal, or DeWalt/Delta 7657. Note that the WWII is available in both 1/8″ standard kerf and 3/32″ thin kerf, is made in the USA, and is also available in a 30 tooth version for more efficient ripping in thicker materials.

By: abimael fernandez

abimael fernandez — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:43:22 +0000

i have used forrest sawblades for 20 years now and try many other including freuds. in my opinion forrest is the top saw blades out there, if you have a change go see the guys demo the forrest blades at thewoodworkingshows.com and you will see why forrest is the best out there. they really stand behind there blade. trust me on this, guys go look, it took me 2 years to buy one , but when i did oh wow wow, i will never go back to the dark side again. LOL

By: Lee Laird

Lee Laird — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 06:18:22 +0000

I’ve got a Forrest WWII which is on my Saw Stop TS. Cuts are wonderful, but one issue came up while visiting my local Woodcraft. It was brought to my attention that the WWII is shy of a full 10″. So much that the riving knife is slightly proud of the top of the blade. I sent a message to Forrest to see if they would do something to rectify this but no response. Maybe you can get them to respond to you and then relay info to us regular guys. Thanks and keep up the great podcasts.