The Best Scroll Saw Blade Reviews: Options for Hardwood and Others

The scroll saw is one of the popular tools for making intricate cuts on workpieces in many workshops. But at the heart of the saw is the blade, the part that does the cutting. Simply put, without the right blade, you cannot make decent cuts!

However, the blades are different because they come in different lengths, teeth configuration, and cutting capacities. This makes selecting the best scroll saw blades confusing, especially for starters. But we are here to help.

We picked the top scroll saw blades, tested, and reviewed them to make it easier for you to identify the perfect one that will make your carpentry work professional and enjoyable.

The Olson Saw PG49802 is our top pick. With its double reverse teeth design and tough construction, the blades in this pack will be an excellent addition to your toolbox.

The Best Scroll Saw Blades Are…

ProductDetails
1. Olson Saw PG49802

  • Blade length: Five inches
  • Blade type: Double reverse tooth
  • Blade cutting capacity: ½ inch to 3/16 inch
  • Quantity in a pack: 18.
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2. Flying Dutchman Ultra Reverse

  • Blade length: Five inches
  • Blade type: Ultra-reverse design
  • Cutting capacity: Designed for both hardwood and softwood
  • Pack quantity: 72 pieces
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3. Bosch SS5-20

  • Cutting capacity: Hardwood, wood softwood and metal
  • Quantity in the pack: Four
  • Length of the blade: Five inches
  • Material: Steel
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4. Skil 80182

  • Blade length: Five inches
  • Cutting capacity: Hardwood, softwood and plastic
  • Pack quantity: 36
  • Weight: 0.64 ounces
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5. Olson Saw FR49501

  • Blade type: Regular skip tooth design
  • Cutting capacity: 3/32-1 inch
  • Blade length: Five inches
  • Pack quantity: 18 pieces
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6. Pegas Modified Geometry Pinless Scroll Saw Blades

  • Pack quantity: 6 dozens
  • Weight: 0.8 ounces
  • Blade length: Five inches
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1. Olson Saw PG49802 — Best Scroll Saw Blades for Hardwood

This Olson Saw PG49802 wins our first position because of its impressive design that makes cutting easy and professional. The blade comes with a double-reverse teeth design, which helps to make your work professional and accurate, especially when cutting hard materials.

One of the main advantages of the Olson Saw PG49802 blades is that they are constructed with carbon steel that makes them tough for ripping any type of hardwood. The hardened design also makes the blades long-lasting. We also liked their high level of maneuverability.

Since the blades are pinless, they are easy to mount on any scroll-saw. So, you will not incur significant downtime when working on different projects. You will also like the fact that your order will come with no less than 18 blades, which have different cutting capacities ranging from 1/2 inch to 3/16 inch.

Specs

  • Blade length: Five inches
  • Blade type: Double reverse tooth
  • Blade cutting capacity: ½ inch to 3/16 inch
  • Quantity in a pack: 18.

Pros

  • Cuts through hardwood fast and accurately
  • Compatible with most modern saws
  • Does not break easily
  • Made with steel for extra durability

Cons

  • Not good for delicate cutting

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2. Flying Dutchman Ultra Reverse — Best Scroll Saw Blades for Thick Wood

Mention the name Flying Dutchman and experienced woodworkers will tell you “it is simply the best.” Their ultra reverse scroll blades have won praise globally for their unique design, strength and efficiency, which makes them very outstanding in ripping through thick wood workpieces.

The most conspicuous thing about these blades is their top quality design that makes cutting wood, even the thick blocks easy and fast. Every third tooth on the blade is reversed so that your workpiece will not splinter on the underside. Indeed, most of the cuts we made with the blade did not require further sanding.

Another notable thing about the blades is that they are milled for extra-sharpness and durability. Designed using hardened steel alloy, we found that the blades maintain their sharpness for longer compared to standard blades. Therefore, you will not need to buy more blades anytime soon because the kit comes with a total of 72 blades.

Specs

  • Blade length: Five inches
  • Blade type: Ultra-reverse design
  • Cutting capacity: Designed for both hardwood and softwood
  • Pack quantity: 72 pieces

Pros

  • The blades are designed for precision and sharpness
  • Delivers sharp cuts without splintering
  • The kit comes with a total of 72 blades
  • Durable

Cons

  • Expensive

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3. Bosch SS5-20

The SS5-20 is another set of high-quality and long-lasting scroll saw blades designed by Bosch after years of research. They are made with tough steel that makes them strong and tough for cutting even the toughest materials. True to the manufacturer’s word, the blade cuts tough hardwood pieces easily.

When you place an order, you get four blades of identical scroll saw blades. Although this pack contains fewer blades compared to others in this list that have up to 72 pieces, they are hardened for extra durability. Besides, they are precision sharpened so that you can enjoy consistent cutting on all your materials.

One unique advantage that makes these blades to stand out from others is that you can also use them to cut other materials apart from wood. We found this very useful because you do not need to buy additional blades if your furniture has some metallic or plastic parts. It is a sort of one-blade-cut all type of blade.

Specs

  • Cutting capacity: Hardwood, wood softwood and metal
  • Quantity in the pack: Four
  • Length of the blade: Five inches
  • Material: Steel

Pros

  • Excellent construction
  • Sold affordably
  • Designed for cutting even the toughest materials
  • The blades are precision sharpened
  • Works well with most scroll saws

Cons

  • The pack comes with only four blades
  • The blades in the pack have the same configurations
  • Not effective for intricate cuts

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4. Skil 80182

Designed with premium-grade steel, this Skil 80182 is a set of high-rated blades, which allows you to cut a wide range of materials. The blades have become very popular with professional woodworkers because they also work well with most scroll saws.

All the blades in this pack are five inches long, which means they provide ample room for you to cut a wide range of materials with varying thickness. When we tested the blades, they worked well with most workpieces, especially when making straight cuts.

These blades also offer very high value for money. Because the pack has a total of 36 blades with different teeth per inch (TPI), 12 with 28 TPI, 12 with 11.5 TPI and 12 with 11.5 TPI, it implies that you can use them over a long time. So, you are sure of completing your projects without the risk of running out of blades.

Specs

  • Blade length: Five inches
  • Cutting capacity: Hardwood, softwood and plastic
  • Pack quantity: 36
  • Weight: 0.64 ounces

Pros

  • The blades fit and work with almost all universal scroll saws
  • You get a mix of different types of cutting blades
  • Can be used for cutting a wide range of materials
  • Strong and durable

Cons

  • Difficult to turn when cutting

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5. Olson Saw FR49501

If you are a beginner in carpentry and looking for scroll saw blades that are highly maneuverable, one of the outstanding options out there is this Olson SAW FR49501. They have the regular skip tooth type, which makes them highly maneuverable because you can cut in any direction.

Most carpenters who have used these blades give positive feedback because they are able to work on a wide range of materials. The 18 blades in the pack have different teeth configurations, including 10 TPI, 15 TPI, and 18.5 TPI.  This implies that you can use them for cutting both tough and soft materials, including plastic.

We also liked the varying cutting capacities of the Olson SAW FR49501 blades, which range from 3/32 inch to one inch. This is enough for the most intricate cutting tasks in carpentry workshops.

Specs

  • Blade type: Regular skip tooth design
  • Cutting capacity: 3/32-1 inch
  • Blade length: Five inches
  • Pack quantity: 18 pieces

Pros

  • The blades are beginner-friendly
  • Easily maneuverable when cutting
  • Comes with diverse teeth configurations
  • Offer a wide range of cutting capabilities
  • Designed to last

Cons

  • The teeth of the blades easily wear out
  • Fragile

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6. Pegas Modified Geometry Pinless Scroll Saw Blades

Are you looking forward to buying scroll saw blades that will offer exceptional quality and durability? Then, you should go for the Pegas modified geometry pinless scroll saw blades. They are easy to fit into your scroll saw, use and will be an invaluable addition to your workshop.

The blades come in a pack of 6 dozens of blades of varying sizes. This implies that you will get one dozen of every blade size, which includes 9, 7, 5, 3, 1, and 2/0. This provides great versatility that you need to work on diverse scrolling tasks.

All the 18 blades in the pack are five-inch long, which means you can handle more tasks. Besides, they are also pinless so that you can make prompt changes without losing significant time if you are in the middle of a task.

When working with a scroll saw, one of the common challenges with most blades is overheating. To address the problem, the Pegas modified geometry pinless blades are designed to tolerate tough feed rates and avoid overheating.

Specs

  • Pack quantity: 6 dozens
  • Weight: 0.8 ounces
  • Blade length: Five inches

Pros

  • The blades deliver smooth and clean cuts
  • Carefully designed to avoid overheating
  • They provide a wide range of cutting capabilities
  • Innovative tooth design

Cons

  • Expensive

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Buying Guide

Now that you have seen our best scroll saw blades selections, it is time to select the best piece for your workshop. To make the process straightforward for you, here are the main factors that you need to consider.

Pinned or Pinless Blades

There are two main types of scroll saw blades, and it is prudent to establish the ideal one for your situation. If you have the older scroll saw model, the chances are that it uses pinned blades.

This means that you will require to use a pin to hold the blade in position. However, most modern scroll saws use pinless models, which are considered more advanced, especially when working on precision cuts that require starting with small holes.

Blade Type

The scroll saw blades come in different designs. The common type is the standard scroll saw blade that comes with teeth arranged at equal distance from each other. The standard design is preferred because it can be used to cut a wide range of materials.

Other types of blades include:

  • Skip-tooth: Designed with two teeth pointing downwards and one tooth upward.
  • Reverse skip-tooth: This is similar to the traditional skip-tooth blade, but differs slightly in that the teeth at the bottom are cut in a reverse position.
  • Double-tooth: This blade has two teeth pointing downwards, followed by a gap for the third teeth.
  • Spiral: This is one of the most efficient types of blades out there. It comes with two teeth pointing upwards, then two teeth pointing downwards. The blade can easily cut materials at 360 degrees, which makes it exceptional for the most intricate cuts.

Teeth Per Inch (TPI)

The teeth configuration of a blade is a critical determinant of its performance. A blade with more TPI will cut slowly because the teeth are smaller, which implies they remove less wood with every stroke.

But their cuts are smoother compared to those with fewer TPI. Therefore, if your goal is simply cutting the workpiece faster, go for the blades with fewer TPI. But if precision is key, a blade with more TPI will come in handy.

The Blade Material

For better performance, you should consider going for blades that are strong and durable. To know this, only select the blades that are made with hard materials such as steel and carbon steel.

Brand

A scroll saw blade is as good as the brand that manufactures it.  The sure bet, in this case, is sticking with the top brands in the market.

These are manufacturers such as SKIL, Flying Dutchman, and Bosch that have been in the market for years, and the quality of their blades proved beyond any reasonable doubt.

Final Thoughts

There you got it! The best scroll saw blades for your workshop depends on the nature of the cutting tasks that you have. So, go for packs that contain many blades of different teeth configuration and cutting capacities.

In the reviews above, we selected the blades from the top brands, and with outstanding features. So, no matter what type of scroll saw blade you want, you are sure of getting it in the list above.

While all the six scroll saw blades we reviewed in this article are the leading options (they are really awesome), the Olson Saw PG49802 is the best of them all because of its sharpness, accuracy, and performance.