| Choosing the correct saw blade will make all the difference in the quality of cut you get. If you have to cut a lot of wet wood it will take all day if you try and use that multi-purpose blade that came with your circular saw. |  |
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You really just have two ways to go here: use-and-destroy or use-and-maintain. The use-and-destroy way recommends buying a lot of thin-kerf blades (.059-inch) cheap and throwing them out when they get dull. When they’re new and sharp, they cut fast. If you hit a few nails, though, that’s it. At less than $10 a piece, that’s not such a big loss. |
Many carpenters choose a thicker-kerf blade (.091-inch) that you can maintain. Thicker blades have bigger carbide teeth; they hold up to nails better and you can re-sharpen them to keep them in your fleet longer. However, you’ll pay more for them–upwards of $20.
When you want straighter cuts and rips or if you’re doing any kind of fine work like using a shoot board to cut built-in parts, stay away from thin-kerf blades–especially dull ones. Even sharp thin-kerf blades can deflect and leave you with a lower quality cut than a stiffer, thicker-kerf blade.
Many thin-kerf blades have aggressive hook angles (20 degrees or so) for faster cutting, but they can add to tear-out. Combination blades generally have lower hook angles of about 12 degrees and exit the work more cleanly.
