I had two of those exact same blades break, too, Tom, also not at the welds, but they broke during use. Never bought another. I've been using Starrett now after a friend gave me a 100 ft role of both 1/4" and 3/8" stock. Both work great and none have broken, but I leave a 1/4" one on most of the time, for ripping (works surprisingly well in stock up to around 2") and general use. Diemaster II blades are good, too, but free is hard to beat.

John