Tooth count
Fewer teeth cut faster and rougher, because each tooth has room to carry its chip out of the kerf. More teeth cut cleaner and clog in a deep cut. Roughly: 24 teeth on a 250 mm (9.84 in) blade for ripping, 40 to 60 for general work, 80 for crosscutting and sheet goods.
Rake angle
The angle the tooth leans forward. Positive pulls into the cut — right for a table saw, where you feed the work. Negative resists — right for a mitre saw, where the blade comes down onto fixed work and a positive rake makes the head snatch and climb.
This is the number almost nobody checks and the one that changes how the machine behaves in your hands.
Kerf and bore
A thin kerf wastes less timber and asks less of a small motor. And in Europe the bore is 30 mm (1.18 in): an imported blade with a different center needs a reducer ring, which is one more thing to lose and one more source of runout.
This does not replace your machine’s manual. Guards, riving knives and safe working procedures differ between machines, and the manufacturer’s instructions for yours take precedence over anything written here.
What comes up most often
How many blades do I actually need?
Two for a table saw: a coarse rip blade and a fine crosscut blade. One for a mitre saw, negative rake, in whatever tooth count matches your work.
Last reviewed 2026-08-12