Forrest 10” x 40T Woodworker II vs. Freud 10” x 40T Premier Fusion

Let’s take a look at these two table saw blades: the Forrest 10” x 40T Woodworker II and the Freud 10” x 40T Premier Fusion. To get more details, check out our full review of the Forrest 10” x 40T Woodworker II.

Features & Benefits

You can read more in our complete guide to buying a table saw blade.

Related: Choosing the Right Table Saw Blade

We’ve also got a roundup of the best 10” table saw blades.

Size

Both saw blades are 10” in diameter and have a 5/8” arbor hole. Most table saws have a 5/8” arbor and can accommodate blades up to 10” in diameter. So both products will be widely usable on a range of saws.

Both table saw blades have a 1/8” (full) kerf. The 10” x 40T Woodworker II is 0.09” thick. The 10” x 40T Premier Fusion is 0.098” thick. (The term “kerf” means the width of the cut that the blade makes in the material being cut.)

A 1/8” kerf is considered a “full” kerf and ought to work with most table saws. On lower-powered saws, a full-kerf blade can cause the saw to struggle with thicker or harder material, compared with a thin-kerf blade.

Teeth

Both blades have 40 teeth. The 10” x 40T Woodworker II has C4 carbide teeth in an ATB configuration. The 10” x 40T Premier Fusion has TiCo high-density carbide teeth in a Hi-ATB configuration.

Blades with 40-60 teeth are usually considered general-purpose blades. They can perform both rip cuts and crosscuts, but not as well as a blade purpose-made for those cuts.

Alternate top bevel (ATB) teeth have a bevel shape rather than being flat across. This shape lets them slice through wood as opposed to tearing out chunks, resulting in crosscuts with less tear-out. They do tend to be less durable than flat-top teeth. Hi-ATB teeth are beveled at a steeper angle than regular ATB teeth, and do an even better job on materials like plywood and melamine.

Pros & Cons

Let’s take a look at some of the pluses and minuses of these products.

For the Forrest:

For the Freud:

Comparison Chart

Below is a full side-by-side comparison of these products’ specs. For more details, go to our full review of the Forrest 10” x 40T Woodworker II. You can view comparisons of the Forrest 10” x 40T Woodworker II with other products

	Forrest 10” x 40T Woodworker II	Freud 10” x 40T Premier Fusion
Brand	Forrest	Freud
Blade Diameter	10”	10”
Arbor Size	5/8”	5/8”
Thickness	0.09”	0.098”
Kerf	1/8”	1/8”
Tooth Bevel	15°	30°
Tooth Count	40	40
Tooth Config	ATB	Hi-ATB
Tooth Material	C4 carbide	TiCo high-density carbide
Rake	20°	18°
Expansion Slots
Pros	Clean rip and crosscuts on hardwood as well as plywood, with little to no sanding needed Cuts easily with no burning even on hardwoods Factory sharpening service at reasonable rates, including replacing broken teeth Good customer service to handle any problems with blades Very quiet with little vibration	Glassy-smooth cross cuts on many kinds of wood Very little tear-out cutting plywood Smooth enough results for gluing without sanding Long useful life before needing sharpening Less dust than comparable blades
Cons	Some customers report chipped or misaligned teeth on arrival Might be more prone to burning wood than some other blades Difficult to have sharpened locally due to proprietary construction process	Some customers report teeth chipped either out of the box or after only a few cuts Does not rip as well as some other general-purpose blades, especially hardwoods Hard to get sharpened locally, may need to send to factory The red coating may rub off on harder materials
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