I have used one of the new Tenryu blades for a couple of projects and went into this experiment with poor expectations, I am familiar with Tenryu's excellent products but did not expect anyone to be able to improve on Festools blades.
The following is an excerpt from my post before receiving the test blade:
Steve Jones said:
... I too use your excellent blades in rotation on table, miter, and radial arm saws, and am very pleased with them.
But like per, I suspect you'll have a hard time competing with the standard blades supplied with the TS55, I spend my days mostly cutting 3/4 domestic ply with the TS55 and a new blade lasts me about a month (which is WAY more mileage than I'm getting from other blades on other saws -yours included, I'm afraid)....
I have put quite a few hundred yards on the Tenryu, alternating with a new Festool blade (I switched back and fourth regularly to compare cut and wear as accurately as possible).
The blade I received was the 160 x 28 tooth combination blade. It has laser cuts and has all the appearance of a premium quality blade,
Plywood: The Tenryu cuts every bit as well and cleanly as the Festool blade
Rips in Maple: I had given up on using the Panther blade from Festool since the cut is so rough and needs so much cleaning up, this new Tenryu blade is what the Panther should have been, it uses the same kerf as the other blades in the set, so it doesn't eat the edge off the splinter strip. it cuts cleanly and smoothly and leaves a clean, perfect edge which I don't have to sand to form a joint or use as a face or door frame.
Life: The Tenryu blade held up fine, even on the hard maple, I did eventually wear it out due to the large amount of plywood I cut with it, it didn't last quite as long as the Festool blade but that was to be expected because the Tenryu I was testing was a general purpose 28 tooth blade not intended for miles of hardwood plywood.
Conclusion: I would not hesitate to purchase this blade in future, in fact as soon as these are available I will use dedicated (Fine and Rip) blades in the shop, and have one of these general purpose blades for installations (since I may end up cutting anything on site, It's good enough for either job that I would put this blade on the saw for any on-site work).
I understand that these blades will be cheaper than the Festool equivalents, If the rest of the set is as well made as the sample I received (which I fully believe them to be) I will be using these blades instead of the Festool ones from now on. I'll go further, I'd use these blades if they were more expensive than the Festools.
There will be some disbelievers out there who are stuck in the "Festool is fantastic" mode and will not purchase the Tenryu blades - for them I have the following offer:
For Sale: Festool blades, clean, used, in the original packages, will be supplied freshly sharpened and cleaned, each blade will sell for the price of the equivalent blade from Tenryu plus shipping.
I have 6 of the 495-377 fine tooth (used to be 491-952)
1 Panther (used on two cuts)
1 Solid surface blade (don't have to number to hand)
