Welcome to our big saw blade test 2020, where we present all saw blades we have tested in detail. We have put together detailed background information for you and also added a summary of customer reviews on the net.
We want to make your purchase decision easier and help you to find the best saw blade for you.
You can also find answers to frequently asked questions in our guide. If available, we also offer you interesting test videos. On this page you will also find some important information that you should pay attention to if you want to buy a saw blade.
The most important facts in brief
- Depending on the type and intended use, you can choose between a strip steel or high-speed steel saw blade and a compound circular saw blade.
- Basically you can also use the saw blades of a hand circular saw for a plunge saw,
- Saw blades are available in different tooth shapes and materials. When buying a saw blade, pay particular attention to what you are going to use it for.
Saw blade test: Favourites of the editorial team
- The best universal circular saw blade
- The best circular saw blade for wood
- The best carbide circular saw blade
- The best fine tooth circular saw blade
- The best circular saw blade in professional quality
The best universal circular saw blade
This circular saw blade from FALKENWALD can be used universally, for a variety of materials. It is a 50×10 mm plunge saw blade with 24 teeth. The cutting width is 1.9 mm, the cutting depth 15 mm.
The blade fits on many common saws from Bosch, Makita, Einhell, etc. and ensures tear-free cutting edges, even under heavy load. The circular saw blade is made of a high-quality carbide.
The best circular saw blade for wood
This circular saw blade is a hand-held circular saw blade that is particularly suitable for working with wood (especially softwood, hardwood, plywood, blockboard, parquet, fibre materials and MDF).
It has a diameter of 160 mm and has 48 teeth. This enables clean work and a precise cut. The cutting width of the circular saw blade is 2.6 mm.
The best carbide circular saw blade
The circular saw blade from Stehle is a saw blade made of robust carbide. It is suitable for many common circular saws. You can use this circular saw blade for different materials, it is especially recommended for working with wood materials.
The circular saw blade has a diameter of 160 mm, the cutting width is 2.2 mm. The blade has 48 teeth and enables a fine, exact cut.
The best fine tooth circular saw blade
This circular saw blade from Festool is a fine tooth circular saw blade with 48 teeth. It has a diameter of 160 mm and a cutting width of 2.2 mm.
The manufacturer recommends this circular saw blade especially for solid wood and coated or veneered panels. It is suitable for various circular saws.
The best circular saw blade in professional quality
This circular saw blade from S&R is a professional saw blade that is especially suitable for wood materials. It has 48 teeth and therefore allows you to work precisely and make fine cuts.
The diameter of the circular saw blade is 160 mm, the cutting width is 2.2 mm. You can use this blade for different hand saws, crosscut saws, mitre saws, table saws and circular saws.
Guide: Questions you should consider before buying a saw blade
Are you thinking about buying a saw blade, but are a little overwhelmed with the selection and the various offers? Then this is the right place for you, because we explain what you should pay attention to when buying saw blades.
What tooth forms are there and what are they suitable for?
Depending on the material being cut, you will need a different saw blade. Here we distinguish 6 different tooth shapes, each suitable for different materials.
Flat tooth
A saw blade with a flat tooth form is particularly suitable for work on wood. In this case, the saw blade is intended for hard and soft wood, whereby longitudinal cuts can be made here.
It is particularly interesting that a flat tooth saw blade can be used for raw cuts in grain direction. The teeth themselves are always aligned in the same direction.
Alternating tooth
If you should be confronted with the term “universal blade”, then it is a change-tooth saw blade. It is often supplied with saws and offers you the advantage that you can make both longitudinal and cross cuts.
If you want to cut your workpiece crosswise to the wood grain, then this tooth form is very well suited for this. The result is that the material is cut evenly on both sides when you cut.
Hollow tooth
If your workpiece is not solid wood, but for example a veneered chipboard, then a hollow tooth saw blade is the right choice. This type of saw blade will enable you to work without tearing.
Remember, however, that this saw blade requires a special setting of the cutting speed.
Trapezzahn
There is also a suitable saw blade for painted and coated workpieces. A trapezoidal toothed saw blade has a bevel shape, which makes it easy to cut through such coated materials.
Trapezoidal flat tooth combi
The mixture between a trapezoidal-tooth saw blade and a flat-tooth saw blade enables a further field of application.
Plastics up to 10 mm or even plate materials can be processed with this design. The advantage of this saw blade is its shape, as increased chip clearance and tear-free cutting are possible.
Roof tooth flat tooth combination
Chipboards consist of wood shavings and are held together by an adhesive. If these boards are also coated with plastic, a roof tooth flat tooth saw blade helps to get through the workpiece.
What does a saw blade cost?
Compared to the matching device, saw blades are reasonably priced. However, one should pay special attention to the variant and the manufacturer.
Depending on the material for which the saw blade should be suitable, different prices result. You should also consider that the quality of the processing
Basically saw blades between 20 and 70 Euros can be found in the trade. You have to pay special attention to the fact that the price cannot be completely limited because the material of the saw blade as well as the tooth form influence the price.
Where can I buy a saw blade?
Saw blades can be bought almost everywhere. Whether in specialist shops or online, the choice is enormous. If you need a very special saw blade, you will find more results online than you might find in a specialist shop.
Basically, however, brick and mortar shops offer a very good selection of saw blades with different diameters, bore diameters, materials and tooth shapes, and much more. In the following a small list of possibilities:
amazon.com
Obi
Hagebau
Manufacturer pages (if you already know what you want)
little hardware stores near you
In the end, only you know best where you can and want to buy your saw blade. Some people prefer a convenient alternative, which can be provided by the Internet, for example, or the personal alternative where you can get advice from an employee.
Decision: What types of saw blades are there and which one is right for you?
Basically one can distinguish between several saw blades. Among them there are different versions, which are available in the trade:
- Steel strip or high-speed steel saw blades
- Composite circular saw blades
With each of these types, the application is somewhat different, each with its own individual advantages and disadvantages.
Depending on what you are going to use a plunge saw for and what material you are going to work on, for example, a different type of saw blade will work best on your machine. In principle, however, there are no special saw blades for the common immersion saws. The same saw blades are used for a plunge saw as for a hand-held circular saw.
If you already own a hand-held circular saw, you can also use it with the plunge saw, depending on the saw blade diameter and bore. In the following sections we would like to help you find out which versions are best suited to your needs.
What distinguishes a steel band saw blade and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
A strip steel or high-speed steel saw blade is cheaper and is punched out in one piece. This design is used especially for solid wood work.
For example, if you are considering working on a workpiece made of solid wood, you should get yourself a steel band saw blade. These saw blades are punched out of a piece of metal and are therefore cheaper.
Cheaper
Work on solid wood possible
Cutting with small width
Reduced durability
fabricated from a single piece of metal
The teeth of this type of saw blade are bent apart alternately, resulting in a shorter service life (durability) during your sawing work. Especially important with this type of saw blade is the fact that it cuts with a small width.
What distinguishes a compound circular saw blade and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
These so-called composite circular saw blades are made of two materials and are of higher quality in terms of workmanship. They have a good price-performance ratio.
In the centre of this saw blade there is a metal supporting body surrounded by a hard metal or a diamond. These two versions are sold as carbide or diamond saw blades.
Made of two materials
High quality processing
Good price-performance ratio
Expensive
The workmanship of these saw blades is of higher quality, as the two components are joined together by soldering or welding. Most often a carbide saw blade is bought because it has the best price-performance ratio.
Purchase criteria: You can compare and evaluate saw blades based on these factors
In the following we would like to show you which factors you can use to compare and evaluate saw blades. This will make it easier for you to decide whether a particular blade is suitable for you or not.
In summary, these are:
- Quality levels
- Number of teeth
- Tooth position
- Speed
In the following paragraphs you can read about the individual purchase criteria.
Quality levels
There are 4 different levels of quality These indicate which material can be processed and how fine or coarse the cut will ultimately look.
At quality level A or 1 (depending on the manufacturer) very coarse cuts are achieved. This saw blade is very suitable for fast cross and longitudinal cuts on workpieces made of softwood, hardwood, chipboard (rough) and shuttering boards.
Quality grades B or 2 are equally suitable for longitudinal and transverse cuts, whereby additional sawing can be carried out on plywood workpieces. At quality level C or 3 finer cuts in the cross section are achieved. Saw blades of this level are therefore well suited for materials such as parquet, single or double layer parquet and
The last level D or 4 is intended for very fine work. Ideally, this saw blade is used for crosscuts on MDF fibreboards, fibre materials, parquet, plywood, soft and hard wood or also blockboards and chipboards.
The following table summarizes the different quality levels once again:
Number of teeth
A saw blade can have between 16 and 72 teeth. Depending on the material being cut, more or fewer teeth are required to cut the workpiece. The first category includes saw blades with a number of teeth from 16 to 24 teeth. This allows you to make fast rip cuts, but you will get a rather rough cut.
The higher the number of teeth, the slower you have to saw.
In the second category between 36 and 48 Z you can make cross sections and your work will look a bit cleaner. Compared to saw blades between 60 and 72 Z, you will get even finer and cleaner cuts. You will also get through harder materials well. But be aware:
Tooth position
In connection with quality level and number of teeth, the tooth position is at the top of your purchase decision. The teeth of a saw blade can be aligned either positively or negatively. A positive angle means that the tip of the tooth points diagonally forwards and a negative angle means that the tip of the tooth points diagonally backwards.
The more teeth a saw blade has, the cleaner it can cut. As a result, the clamping space is filled up more quickly because it is smaller. When cutting lengthwise to the wood fibre, ideally use saw blades with few teeth and thus a large clamping space. Crosswise to the wood fibre, it is better to use saw blades with more teeth. This way there is only a small tear on the upper side of the workpiece.
(Source: Do-it-yourself with the router, circular saw, etc.: A manual to make more out of it)
If you are working on wood, for example, a positive saw blade will slide through your workpiece faster, but is suitable for softer material. A negative saw blade is recommended for particularly clean work, although more force is required and the sawing should be slower.
Speed
Each saw blade has a maximum speed. This shows you with how many revolutions per minute your workpiece can be processed. If you have a dip saw with speed control, you can set how fast the saw blade should rotate so that your material is not damaged.
As a general rule, the larger the saw blade, the lower the maximum speed and the lower the speed, the higher. It is particularly important that you pay attention to what you are sawing. The harder your material, the slower you should work.
Trivia: Worth knowing facts about the saw blade
Finally, we would like to answer a few important questions about the saw blade and its use. You will learn how to change a saw blade and how to sharpen it.
How do I change a saw blade?
Most immersion saws have an easy saw blade replacement. The saw blade can be replaced in a few steps and work can be started quickly.
With a plunge saw, you can usually find a release button or similar, which is used to open the housing. By lifting a lever or pressing a button, for example, the housing is lifted and can be removed later.
A switch-on lockout, which prevents the saw from starting automatically or accidentally, ensures maximum safety. This means you can easily change the saw blade in no time at all.
Some immersion saws require the use of additional tools to loosen the saw blade and clamp a new one.
How is a saw blade sharpened?
There are three possibilities: Sharpen it yourself, have it sharpened, or buy a new saw blade. Many people decide to buy a new saw blade, but there is another way.
Buying a new saw blade is probably the easiest method, but not necessarily the cheapest. Depending on manufacturer, material and purpose, a saw blade can be quite expensive. Alternatively you can have the saw blade sharpened or you can do it yourself.
Grinding a blunt blade has its advantages: On the one hand you can continue to use the same blade and save costs, on the other hand you are not dependent on annoying and frequent orders.
Of course, care should be taken that not every saw blade can be sharpened. If it is a saw blade with specially hardened teeth, then this cannot be sharpened, as their material is as hard or harder than the file itself.
Carbide blades are exclusively resharpened on suitable grinding machines. Here it is worth going to a professional grinder who has such equipment.
Purchasing your own machine usually costs between 120 and 250 euros, which usually include everything necessary to sharpen special saw blades.
The investment should be well thought out. If there are many and frequent jobs to be done with a plunge saw, then the investment would certainly be worthwhile, as replacement is only necessary when the saw blade is damaged.
On the part of the editorial staff, however, we do not recommend grinding machines in this low-priced category because the necessary precision cannot be guaranteed. The investment for professional grinding machines is only worthwhile in rare cases, as they cost several thousand euros.