Freud Perma-SHIELD® coating or Silver ICE™

[Brian Gumpper]

I don't own any coated blades for a simple reason, I find the FS Tools blades have performed better for me, and they don't offer any coatings on their tooling.

Makes me think they don't need any since FS isn't exactly the bargain line..........Regards, Rod.

FS is a saw shop line sold mostly to businesses.

All I'll say on the matter is you won't find coatings in many cabinet shops. Doesn't mean they aren't better, just stating my observations.

[Jamie Buxton]

I can't see any reason why teflon-coating a blade should improve its performance. The part of the blade that sees high friction are the teeth. The blade's body just spins in a sawdust cloud, which offers tiny friction compared to what the teeth are seeing. It seems to me that the teflon is Freud's attempt to differentiate themselves from competitors' blades that are made with exactly the same materials in exactly the same pattern -- whether or not it actually makes a performance improvement.

[Drew Sanderson]

I just got off the telephone with Technical Support and the person said that the ICE coating is newer and that perma-shield is being phased out. He did not seem like the most informed person but was a second level support person so maybe he is. Guess I will not worry about it and save a few bucks. I always like to buy the best which usually means more expensive. I guess that is not really the case in this instance.

[Van Huskey]

I just got off the telephone with Technical Support and the person said that the ICE coating is newer and that perma-shield is being phased out. .

I am dubious of this info. The newest blades in their line are only available with PS (P410T and LM75) as well as the Fusion line. I am not saying it is incorrect info, it just seems off considering they are still introducing blades (in the last couple of months) with PS.

[Larry Frank]

I have tried blades with both coatings and other than the color that I prefer, I do not notice the difference. I have wondered about the coating as I get very little or no buildup on that part of the blade. The buildup happens on or just near the teeth and the coating makes little difference.

[Justin M Rovang]

Put a freud on my CMS and cut a miter, rubbed off the red on the cut off on my first miter. Didn't figure out what made it red right off the bat; so I did a finger check. Scared the crap out of me for a split second. I can't figure out WHY they'd make it red ... I was one of the ICE votes because my Avanti (Italy) has it and was much easier to clean off. The teflon seems easier to 'cake'.