Anybody have anything good/bad to say about the Ridge Carbide TS2000 10″combination blade? It’s priced about the same as the Forrest Woodworker II, supposedly has thicker teeth and cuts a flat-bottom kerf, which I like.
I wanted to talk to In-Line Industries, who sell the blade, at the Columbus, Ohio woodworking show last weekend, but they must have forgotten about the show (along with several other exhibitors who were listed on the show’s web site).
What about a sharpening service for this blade? It doesn’t look like Ridge does sharpening (I could be wrong), and I’d feel funny sending it to Forrest for sharpening!
Replies
I have the TS2000, and it's as good as the Forrest blades that I own (Ridge started from someone who left Forrest, so expect some similarity in products).
You can buy the blade on-line directly from Ridge (http://www.ridgecarbidetool.com) and you can also see their sharpening costs. I send my planer knives to Ridge for sharpening; I haven't sent anything to Forrest, but they both do good work. In general any professional sharpening service will gladly sharpen any blade, regardless of the source. The only time I got some push back is when I took a Grizzly blade to Ridge, and he asked why I would want to bother, given the cost/quality of the Griz blade was rather low.
Ridge and Forrest are both local to me, I've been to both shops and use both products. No big difference, except I get many router blades from Ridge.
The TS2000 is a pretty impressive general purpose blade, and is very similar to the WWII. The teeth are quite a bit thicker, and it's every bit it's equal. They do have a sharpening service, but I haven't tried it. Holbren sells the TS2000 with free shipping, and 10% discount to members of Woodnet, BT3Central, Familywoodworking, and Sawmillcreek. (code "woodnet10", "SMC10", or "BT310" should work).
If you're curious about the new Hi-ATB 40T blades, the Infinity Super General (010-044), and the Freud P410 Fusion offer a different grind than the Forrest or RC. Haven't tried the P410 yet, but the Infinity's mighty impressive....it leaves a shiny edge in maple.
I used Ridge blades a lot in the FWW shop, they cut well and seemed far less prone to getting chipped teeth, most of that damage coming from careless handling when changing blades.
Their sharpening service was excellent. I always try to send blades back to the manufacturer for sharpening, they are sure to know the best profiles for the saw's teeth and they almost always have state of the art equipment for grinding.
John White
I have a Ridge TS 2000 and a couple of Forrest WWII's. The Ridge's teeth are larger, and you would probably get more sharpenings out of the Ridge. The WWII's leave a slightly smoother edge on the wood, but it wouldn't matter for most people of purposes. Forrest will sharpen your Ridge. It might even end up sharper than it was originally.
Joe - If you're getting a noticeably cleaner edge with the WWII, you might want to have RC sharpen yours. Most people who have used both either report comparable cuts or favor the TS2000....there's always some variability involved but it might be worth checking into.
Actually, I got the Ridge Carbide about two years after I got my first WWII. The WWII with considerably more mileage on it cut more smoothly than the brand new Ridge, but not by enough to make a difference to me. Some people say the WWII is sharpened to make a "planer" cut, which may account for that. I also have a $30 DeWalt blade that is nearly as good as both the Ridge and WWII. The blade you like is the blade you like, no matter what somebody else's opinion is.
"The blade you like is the blade you like, no matter what somebody else's opinion is."Very true...I just wondered if there might be a minor defect with your TS2000 that they could fix...
And I thought I was the only klutz when it came to blade changes!
Looks like I'll go with the Ridge TS2000-- all I've been hearing is good, and Holbren's price of $80.95 (after their 10% discount) with no sales tax and free shipping is tough to beat!
Their sharpening is also priced right (less than I can get locally, even with the shipping).
Thanks for your help!
Check out the latest Wood Magazine saw blade test.
http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/story.jsp?storyid=/templatedata/wood/story/data/1197909616100.xml
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .
It did not rate as highly as the Freud Fusion and the WWII in the recent Wood Magazine tests of 10" general purpose 40 tooth blades but it was only a small difference. Overall, Wood liked the Freud Fusion if you cut melamine as well as crosscut, rip and cut hardwood veneered plywood. If you don't cut melamine, then the Freud and WWII were a toss up.
Keep in mind though, that "general purpose" blades are best for up to 3/4" - 1" stock. They are not "best" for thinker material particularly ripping thicker stock.
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