Having tried ~ 70 blades from Freud, CMT, Amana, Infinity, Forrest, Freud, Irwin, Leitz, Ridge Carbide, Tenryu, Oshlun, Oldham, Delta, DeWalt, Systimatic, Skil, Vermont America, Craftsman, Bosch, and probably others, none have impressed me more than Infinity
. Of the handful of the Infinity blades I've tried, 5 have been best in class, meaning they eclipsed any of the other similar type blades I've tried (40T Super General, 40T Laser Thin Kerf, 50T Combomax, 60T Hi-ATB 010-060, Dadonator), and the other right up there (24T ripper). For those who are unfamiliar with Infinity, it's owned by David Venditto....the son of the Carlo Venditto, who put Freud USA on the map, founded CMT USA, and Jesada before retiring. David learned from a master, and is no newcomer to this stuff.
It's my opinion that choosing the right type of blade is more important than who makes it. Most of the brands mentioned above are capable of making high quality blades. Whether or not to make a good blade or just "say" you make a good blade is more of a commitment/business decision than actual capability...they all have the technology. I suspect that most bad experiences from good quality blades are either the wrong blade for your preferences, a blade from the wrong series (brand name alone is not a guarantee of the right blade...ie: DW Construction series
vs the former DW Series 60
), or one that's not quite right/bordering on defective (it happens to all of them), but otherwise it's really about getting one that excels in the characteristics that are most important to you.
For the bargain hunters, here's a list of
current saw blade bargains I've stumbled into in recent months.