The "Super General" is "King"
Written: Feb 29 '08 (Updated Mar 03 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: State of the art. The cleanest cutting general purpose blade I've tried. Stellar quality.
Cons: Not cheap. A tad finicky about setup.
The Bottom Line: For cleanest cuts in hardwood and sheetgoods from a blade that's strong in most tasks, the Super General is king.
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| woody2's Full Review: Infinity Super General 10" 40-Tooth General Purpos... |
The Infinity Super General 010-044 is a fairly radical redesign of their original Super General 010-040, that's now simply dubbed the "General". It's a 10" diameter full kerf (0.125") 40 tooth general purpose blade with an aluminum infused blue PTFE coating, polymer filled sound dampening slots, a precision ground hub, and very large micrograin carbide teeth.
Like any Infinity product I've seen, the 010-044 is made to world class standards. One glance gives the immediate impression that this is a state-of-the-art blade. The materials used are the finest examples available, and the manufacturing techniques used are nearly flawless. It has a very solid well balanced feel. The brazing and grinding are immaculate. Every flat surface shines from the smooth finish. The teeth are among the largest I've seen on any blade, and the gullets are noticeably deep. The large proportions of shiny metal and visual queues elicit a primitive guttural response of approval that would make Tim Taylor proud. None of this is typically part of my saw blade analysis, and it may not correlate to actual performance, but the visuals of the Super General are so striking that I'd be doing all of you a disservice not to note them.
Two distinctive design characteristics of the Super General's tooth geometry are what sets it apart from most other premium general purpose (GP) blades. It features a Hi-ATB grind that offers a steep 30° alternating bevel across the top of the teeth, and a double side grind. Most "GP" blades use a shallower alternating beveled top grind known as an "ATB". The "Hi-ATB" grind is the cleanest cutting grind available due to the sheering action that it creates across the fibers. This grind is typically seen in dedicated higher tooth count blades used specifically for ultra fine cuts in veneers, fine plywood, and melamine. They crosscut very cleanly, but don't rip well, and offer little versatility. The result of Infinity's design is extremely low tear-out on crosscuts in hardwood, plywood, and sheetgoods, yet still offers good ripping ability. The double side grind enhances the polishing characteristics of an already low side clearance, resulting in a very smooth glassy surface that's also typically only seen in the higher tooth count specialty blades. More commonly found features of a general purpose blade are the steep 20° hook angle that aid in ripping speed and the 40 tooth configuration. Keeping in mind that if all other design parameters are equal, a lower tooth count blade typically equates to a faster but rougher cut that requires less power, and a higher tooth count results in a slower but smoother cut that requires more effort. 40 teeth is an excellent compromise for a blade intended for versatility to perform most cutting tasks well. While most general purpose blades don't excel in any one area, the Super General comes remarkably close to the performance of a specialty blade, while maintaining it's "general purpose" roots.
In use, the Super General performed extremely well for a blade in this class. (As expected) Crosscuts are remarkably clean for a 40 tooth blade. The Hi-ATB tooth grind and double side grind really contribute to the cut quality. Rip cuts have very low occurrence of blade marks and the edge is noticeably shiny. I'm able to recognize cuts made by the Super General, which is really pretty amazing, because it's so hard to distinguish cuts made by most other premium general purpose blades. It did a super job in every material I tried, but I'd have to say that's strongest suit is freedom from tearout in both hardwoods and sheetgoods. It's also a very quiet blade.
Things sounds perfect so far, but let's face it, nothing is. There's a downside to every engineering choice made. Even though the 010-044 is a general purpose blade, it has a steak of "thorobred" in it which makes it a bit more finicky than some. The precision elements of this blade require a bit more care with things like setup, saw alignment, blade height, and technique, or the blade will reveal the variable. The very characteristics that give it the potential for a performance advantage can also cause some problems if things go awry. The features that give a polished edge can go from "burnished" to "burned" if the saw bogs much in thick material, or if I use too slow of a feed rate, or if I'm not careful to keep the board tight along the fence. Also, the ultra clean slicing abilities of the Hi-ATB grind aren't as efficient at removing chips in thick ripping as a flat top grind (FTG), or even the shallower 10° to 20° bevel of more typical ATB grinds. The combination of it's full kerf and grind type can contribute to bogging my saw a bit when I rip really thick dense material. In fairness, 40 tooth blades aren't typically recommended to cut materials over 1-1/2", but given enough power, they'll usually get the job done depending on the material. The Super General will "get the job done" in most thick material also, but you have to be conscientious about it. My preference for thick ripping is for a thinner kerf blade on my 1-3/4hp saw because they require less power and make it easier to dictate the feed rate. My thin kerf 24 tooth FTG ripping blades don't cut anywhere near as cleanly as the Super General, but they do hog through 2" hard maple a bit easier. I'd love to see a thin kerf Super General "Lite".
So there you have it. The good, the bad, and the ugly of what is quite possibly the cleanest cutting general purpose blade available. I'm still amazed that I'm able to visually identify boards by the quality of the cut the Infinity leaves...the shiny edges and absence of saw marks are a dead giveaway! GP blades are typically known for their versatility, and the Super General certainly fits that description, but it does give up some aspects of versatility for the sake of improved performance in other areas. It's a bit at the opposite end of the GP spectrum as the Forrest WWII 30T blade. There's truly a balance of design elements in play, and Infinity really pushes the envelope. The only other blade that has a similar geometry is the new Freud P410 Fusion, which I haven't tried, but I'd expect to behave similarly. Others like the Forrest WWII, Ridge Carbide TS2000, and Tenryu Gold Medal, and even the former Infinity General (010-040), are excellent, and possibly a bit more forgiving in some respects, but if you're looking for the cleanest cutting general purpose blade around, this one is it. It offers a taste of what the specialty blades can give, yet still earns it's "general purpose" moniker.
As a side note, the Super General was recently awarded "Top Tool" honors by Wood Magazine in a comparison of 28 forty tooth general purpose blades that included just about every premium and high quality value blade you can name. Just for the record, I'd like to note that the SAP request to make the Super General available for review on Epinions was placed well in advance of the publication of Wood's comparison. I was truly impressed with this blade even prior to Wood's similar findings.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
woody2
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Location: Rochester, NY
Reviews written: 96
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Thank God for God. Think life is tough now...try without him!
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