Pros: Great performance from a high quality, versatile, general purpose blade.
Cons: A little expensive. Is only available in one odd kerf width.
The Bottom Line: Highly recommended as an excellent general purpose high performing blade with very good versatility, if the midrange kerf width is not a concern on your saw.
The Tenryu GM-25540 "Gold Medal" is the upper end of Tenryu's vast collection of saw blades. It features a fairly standard 40 tooth alternating top bevel (ATB) tooth configuration that's suitable for a wide range of tasks. It sports large C4 micrograin carbide teeth that should hold an edge well and will withstand several sharpenings. The Gold Medal is a top shelf blade that's very comparable in design and performance to the industry standard Forrest WWII 40T, and is priced similarly in the $100 range. Like any high end general purpose blade, it offers versatile performance with a nice compromise of glueline ripping ability, clean crosscuts, and good performance in sheet goods. With 40 teeth, it's not intended to be a primary ripping blade for thick dense stock, yet given enough power it will do a very respectable job of even tough ripping, and will leave a nice clean edge, but will have more tendency to burn in thick materials than a good 24T FTG rip blade. It does an admirable job in most fine crosscut and plywood applications too, but will leave a bit more tearout thana good dedicated 80T crosscut blade designed for that application. It counters those weaknesses with the ability to perform well enough in a variety of applications and materials that you can use one blade for the vast majority of tasks.
It's very difficult to differentiate between cuts made from the Forrest WWII 40T and the Gold Medal blade. It cuts cleanly on a wide variety of cuts and materials, and rips well up to about 2" thick material. As expected from a good general purpose blade, it'll handle alot of cutting tasks well. It's worth noting that the kerf width is 0.111", which is thicker than a standard 3/32" (0.098") thin kerf, and thinner than a standard 1/8" (0.125") full kerf. In use, this means that it takes a wider cut than a TK blade, requiring slightly more power, which influences how it performs in thick materials. Inversely, it takes a narrower cut than a full kerf blade which allows to cut through thick material more easily. The odd kerf size could be a concern for some users in some situations, and may be more difficult to match to yours saw's splitter or riving knife. With left tilt saws, a change in blade width can skew the accuracy of the tape scale. Competitors such as the Forrest WWII, Infinity Combomax, and Ridge Carbide TS2000 are available in a choice of thin kerf or full kerf, so you can choose which is best suited for you saw and usage. It's also worth noting that this blade is manufactured in Japan, whereas the Forrest and Ridge Carbide are made in the USA. Aside from not being available in a choice of kerf widths, I have no complaints with the Gold Medal. It's a top shelf blade that should be considered along with the best available from Freud, Forrest, Infinity, and Ridge Carbide. 5-star performance, 4-star rating due to the noted limitations in kerf width.
Fantastic prices with ease & c...(Stock status: N/A)
This is the top of the line choice for the serious craftsman who wants one superior blade for most all woodworking. Saw plate run-out less than .002"...More at Amazon Marketplace
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