Freud LU87R006M20: 160mm Thin Kerf Rip Blade

If woodworking had a “before and after” moment in my life, this Freud 10-inch Thin Kerf Blade is the dividing line. I put it on my saw, fired it up, and immediately wondered if I’d accidentally switched to a laser cutter. 🛸 Cutting with this blade is like slicing butter with a hot knife - smooth, effortless, and deeply satisfying. Hardwood? Softwood? Plywood? It doesn’t matter. The blade glides through stock so cleanly that the cuts look pre-finished. Tear-out packed its bags and moved out permanently. 👋🪵 The thin kerf design means less strain on the saw, less waste, and more control—like the blade is politely asking the wood to separate rather than forcing the issue. The Chuck Norris of blades. The sound alone tells you something magical is happening. 🎶 I’ve been woodworking long enough to know hype when I see it. This isn’t hype. This blade genuinely changed my woodworking life.My cuts are cleaner, my projects come together faster, and I find myself making “just one more cut” because it’s so enjoyable. Five stars? Absolutely. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ But if there were a way to rate this blade with an entire spiral arm of the Milky Way, I’d do it without hesitation. 🌠 If you value clean cuts, happy saws, and that little grin you get when a tool just works, do yourself a favor—bolt this blade on and prepare to fall in love. ❤️🪚

I’ve always run CMT ITK chrome blades and they’ve treated me well, so I never bought into the hype around Freud. Consider me officially converted. This 24-tooth ripping blade is insanely sharp. On the first cut, I fed the board at my normal pace and it practically launched itself through the saw with less than half the resistance I’m used to. Genuinely shocking in the best way. It’s noticeably quieter, leaves a clean cut, and I’ve had zero burning or scorching—even on longer rips. It also cuts perfectly flat-bottom grooves and dados, which is huge for joinery and cabinet work. Long story short: this blade does exactly what it’s supposed to do, and then some. I honestly may never go back to CMT. Highly recommend.

I have been doing woodworking for over 35 years. I learned the hard way that the proper tools make all the difference. I still remember watching my father smoke out the basement with the one steel tipped table saw blade that served as a Do-All blade. The bottom line to accurate, clean, effortless, and SAFE cuts on "any" saw, is using the right type of blade, a sharp blade, and a fence/miter that's accurate and sturdy. I have two table saws and purchased this Freud blade for my portable saw. The portables tend to be underpowered and need a thin kerf blade to prevent them from lugging down. I've used many types of combination blades with great success but they all lug severely when trying to rip 2X material. I can't count the times I've had to reset the circuit breaker because I've pushed the saw too hard. This Freud blade was made for just this application...smaller, underpowered, portable table saw ripping, and it's the absolute BEST blade I've used in that application. It lives up to EVERYTHING Freud claimed...it's far quieter than any other blade on the same saw. It rips with absolute ease and feels like a new saw. I haven't tripped the breaker once, even when ripping wet pressure treated wood. This blade is a must-have for any serious woodworker. I honestly don't have a single complaint about the blade, but rather one word of advice. If you look at the application chart for the blade you will find it's not recommended for crosscutting of laminated wood, (plywood, veneer, etc). It's not that it won't cut it.....this blade will cut through any wood, ripping or crosscutting. But you will get major splintering of the laminated wood on the backside of the cut. I don't find this a flaw in any way. Again, the blade does EVERYTHING Freud claims and very well. Like any specialized blade, it has it's limitations. Purchase a good combination blade and you'll be amazed at the results.

This blade truly lives up to its name. I used it to rip some 6/4 ash to use as a tabletop. While there are harder woods out there, ash is quite hard enough to test out a new blade. It’s what MLB bats are made of, for reference.. As long as your fence is well aligned, the blade makes that beautiful singing sound as it rips. No trouble at all. Not a hint of burning or smoke. No chipping. Just perfectly square and smooth edges. Two of my pictures show how the seam between boards almost disappears. The other picture shows a sliver I ripped off which measured less than 1/32”. So yes, this blade could be used for veneers. While you can get pretty decent “hobby” blades from the big box stores, spend your money on this “industrial” one. You will notice a difference. I can’t speak to its longevity but as long as its not put under heavy lateral stress which can burn teeth, and is cleaned if it collects sap, I think it will last quite a while.

Wow! My previous blades were causing my Dewalt saw to bog down, but this blade is a game changer. Super smooth cuts and so easy. It is even a little quieter. Best blade for the budget minded.

As another reviewer mentioned, the Jet blade that came with the saw was not cutting it, as it was burning everything and putting horrible saw marks on every cut. I purchased this blade as a replacement and couldn't be happier. I've owned 2 of these blades and they transformed my "underpowered" saw (Jet Contractor) into a cutting machine. Unfortunately, the 1st blade found a piece of metal in some plywood and required replacement - no fault of the blade. I'm usually working with 4/4-5/4 red oak and it never misses a beat. The thin kerf design really does make a difference with these "underpowered" saws. Even though you would expect more deflection/chatter because it's thinner, it does produce a very clean edge. The only gripe I have is that I cannot find this blade locally. I was forced to try the Freud Diablo D1024x and I was VERY dissapointed. See my review of the D1024x for more on that blade.

I decided to put this 9" ripping blade with 22 teeth, on my Dewalt radial arm saw. So far, I can't see a need to purchase any other blade. The reduced motor drag, and the decreased sawdust from the larger teeth, are reason enough to use a ripping blade. I got the idea from "BigMikeTuna." He said in his famous radial arm saw video, showing his 1978 Craftsman radial arm saw, that he only uses this Freud 10" thin kerf "ripping blade" for all his fine furniture building, including precision crosscuts on critical hardwoods in furniture--he says he never uses any other blade, and doesn't own a table saw due to table saws being the most dangerous tool ever made. He goes into detail about why they are so dangerous in his radial arm saw video. If you have a table saw, just throw it away; there are 7.... horrific accidents per day on table saws in the USA--go and read the statistics and stories before you use it again. That is 7 "horrific" stories every single day, not including the hundreds of minor accidents each day on the table saw, in the United States alone... I don't like to use negative words that create negative thoughts, so I'm being vague on purpose. But please look up the statistics. Table saws are run with no guard on them, as a standard practice, and most of the old cast iron saws have no riving knife, which is a recipe for a ruinous accident. If you are going to use a table saw, at least get one with a riving knife, and don't even think about using your old style "non riving knife" contractor saw anymore. I use this blade for all my cuts. Radial arm saws are far better at ripping boards than crosscutting, because their bearings, and carriage are locked during a rip cut, so you get 100% accuracy, with zero slop in the bearings due to entire carriage being tightly locked into a fixed position during a rip cut. And, nobody happened to notice, but a radial arm saw has about a 99% dust collection efficiency during a rip cut, better than any other power tool, without any modifications to the guard, due tot he inherent location of the guard over the blade. But in a crosscut, a radial arm saw blade guard does almost nothing, it provides only partial protection to the user. And, stupidly, the guard cannot actually be used for dust collection on a crosscut. You can only collect dust on a radial arm saw by doing a rip cut, but most people don't realize this. In my opinion after owning 10 radial arm saws, and 2 table saws, a radial arm saw is much safer for rip cuts than crosscuts--the exact opposite of the common rumors about them. The blade guard covers 98% of the blade during a rip cut, and the carriage is locked so it cannot move, which makes it a lot safer than a table saw being run with no guard. As BigMikeTuna explains in his famous video, a radial arm saw cannot do a violent ejection of a board either, because the blade is set down into the cutting deck, so the outside periphery of the teeth cannot launch a board up into the air--also the blade guard prevents this from being possible, due to the blade guard blocking most of the blade. Again, table saws are run without any blade guard, as a standard practice. Radial arm saws are never operated without the guard, because the guard is not obtrusive. Back to this blade: I want to buy a 2nd one of these blades, but the cost is actually unreasonable, considering that you can get a budget blade for $14. It doesn't make sense why these are $55 or $60. Out of principle, I have held off on buying a 2nd blade, even though I do need another one. They need to bring these thin kerf blades down to about $38.

I have a 42 year old Sears radial arm saw that has been through a lot of tough years. I even used it when I built my house 30 years ago. It is wired for 110V rather than 220V so that I can move it around and plug it into around the house; 220V outlets are usually few and far between. The problem is that a motor running on 110V tends to bog down under a heavy load, more so than a 220V-wired motor. It's worked this way for 42 years, so why change it now? Despite its years, the saw continues to slog along, and I continue to use it. Lately, it's been slowing down with what should be some pretty simple cuts, like a cross cut on a 2x4. My 60-tooth Freud carbide-tipped blade is probably a bit dull by now, so I began to think about replacing it with something newer/sharper. I read a number of Amazon reviews for different blades, and the LU87R010 stood out from the others. The comments seemed to indicate that this blade would rip through anything without a whimper. My needs are now simple, namely chopping 2x material. I don't care if the cuts are silky smooth, just so long as they are cut quickly. The reviews led me to believe that this was the blade for me, so I ordered it a week ago. It arrived today, just in time for some 2x4 cutting for some simple sawhorses. Let me tell you, this blade is astonishingly good. The saw ripped right through the 2x4s like they weren't there! I needed to rip a 6' piece in half to get a pair of 2x2s. The blade never balked, the old saw's motor never slowed down. I couldn't believe that my saw still had the guts to cut this way. I mean ... the old adage of "like a hot knife through butter" perfectly describes this blade! The LU87R010 is like saw-Viagra for my old radial arm saw! Buy this saw blade. You will NOT be disappointed!

What an impressive blade. Does the job very well. Right now I have only used pine but I am sure it would do the same job with fir and harder wood.

Cuts thick pieces of wood much easier than using my large kerf blade.

pairs perfectly with my Festool saw. Its thin kerf design makes ripping through hardwood and softwood incredibly smooth and efficient, minimizing material waste. The Perma-Shield coating is a standout feature—it reduces friction, prevents gumming, and keeps the blade cooler during extended use. What impressed me most is how clean and precise the cuts are, with minimal splintering. It's especially noticeable on high-end materials where precision is critical. The blade also stays sharp for a long time, making it a great value. If you’re using a Festool saw and need a reliable rip blade, this is a top-notch choice!

El disco corta muy bien, su diseño disminuye considerablemente el ruido, el hecho de ser de espesor delgado hace que los cortes sean mas finos y suaves, yo lo uso para cortes transversales y longitudinales.

The quality and accuracy of these Freud blades is 1st class. I unreservadly recommend purchasing this blade for your Dewalt table saw