Freud Red Blades vs. Freud Silver Blades

[tarheel99]

I am thinking about buying one of the Freud Glue Line Rip blades (LM74) but I don't know if the "Perma-SHIELD" (or Red) version is worth the extra $15.

Anyone have experience with both the red and silver versions of Freud blades?

[LCHIEN]

usually I think the red Freud blades are teflon coated.
I've not tried them side by side or even sequentially.
The teflon is supposed to reduce friction and burning and buildup of resins on the blade. For about $10 more. I think a good coating of paste wax would do a smilar job.

[dedaddy]

I have one of those blades and find it no better than the stock blade. I thought it would be better for some long rips but found otherwise. Save your money!

[silverfox]

I agree with dedaddy...I bought one of those for my circular saw and I like the PC blade that came with the saw MUCH better.
Mike

[Tool Fool]

Theoretically, wood shouldn't contact the teflon on the body anyway. It does happen, but I'd buy it with no teflon, or upgrade to the next level blade with the savings.

[Stytooner]

So far, I have bought two of the red 60 tooth Diablo's from HD. These were about $39. Both are still in great shape. If you get a board going a bit sideways, they will leave a pink mark. I don't think I would pay any extra for the coating. Tool Fool is right. If the saw is setup right, and PROPER technique is used, you shouldn't see any pink marks.
They don't rust, though which is a plus down here with this humidity, but as Loring mentioned, wax works too.

[leehljp]

I agree with what Lee and Tool Fool said. Usually when you see marks and build up on the side of a blade it is for two reasons, one noted above.

1. Improper set up or feed.

2. Particularly on high resin and green wood, as the blade shears the wood some of it is forced downward into the cut out slot and rolls around in the gap between the wood and blade body. The heat fuses (maybe not the right word) it mildly on the blade body.

Most often we assume that this is contact of the wood and blade body, but it is not. As Lee noted, if it is, then you will likely see pink from the Teflon on the wood, or at least swirl marks.

The question is, does Teflon reduce friction with / from the sawdust buildup itself. If it is sticking on the Teflon, then the Teflon is not doing its job any better than a non Teflon blade.

[Mort]

The BIL has the coated Freud glue line rip blade - $40 plus shipping IIRC - and swears by it. I have a Dewalt thin kerf rip blade <$20 including tax. We compared rip cuts in the same piece of wood and couldn't see or feel any difference. The BT seems to "run better" with the Dewalt rip blade as opposed to the stock blade.
Ya pays ya money and ya takes ya choice.

[Black wallnut]

I've used both coated and uncoated chrome. I can see no difference between the two. (80 tooth fine cut off blade) When I went to the BORG to buy my last purchased blade the coated ones were all they had. Guess which I bought.

[sweensdv]

The red coating on the Freud blades isn't actually Teflon® but a Freud home brew. The main function of the coating is to help reduce friction, heat build-up and gumming on the blade. I would say that the main difference between the LM74R(coated) and the LM74M(uncoated) is that the uncoated blade will require cleaning more frequently and also heat up faster when in use.

[Whaler]

I use the Freud TK306 40 tooth blades as my standard but have a Freud red Diablow D1024X 24 tooth rip blade and it does a nice job. Think I picked it up at Sears for under $40.00.

[baron987]

I ordered a Freud LU73M010 (Silver) and received a Freud LU73R010 (Red) - are these the same or did I get screwed??

[leehljp]

Based on the numbers, the only difference is the color. There may be another difference not noted in the numeric designation - and that is that since this original post, 14 years go, Freud (as with many other companies) has occasionally shifted / outsourced some manufacturing to Taiwan/China. Another advantage I see of Red over M / metal is that over time metal shows up rust while the Red prevents rust and seems to cut down on friction as compared to the uncoated metallic ones.

[Carlos]

HOLY THREAD RESURRECTION! 14 years must be some sort of record.

I have a red glue line rip and LOVE that thing.

[LCHIEN]

Agree with Hank, its just as good. Identical cutting configuration and build. Possibly better as its red coating is supposed to be a premium feature.