Lenox Jigsaw Blades
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Tools of the Trade contributor Brian Way took a trip to the Lenox factory in Longmeadow, Mass., to see how the company produces its new jigsaw blades.
Play slideshowSeveral years ago, I was invited to visit the Lenox headquarters in East Longmeadow, Mass., to learn how hole saws were made. Recently, I attended another press event there, this one focused on the re-release of jigsaw blades. I say "re-release" because Lenox did previously have a line of jigsaw blades on the market for a period of years ending in early 2000s; however, I did not get a definitive answer on why that product was removed from the shelves.
My colleagues and I are very excited to see they brought them back, and with the Lenox American-made quality that we have come to expect and appreciate. As usual, Lenox has some top-secret proprietary methods of creating these blades, which I cannot share. I can say that the company uses "Power Blast Technology," which is a high-speed blasting process used to strengthen the blade to reduce breaks. This is a proven technology used on its other blades as well.
In addition, for metal cutting applications, Lenox has a proprietary T2 Technology increasing the tang strength of the blade and the Lenox Power Arc curved blades. The curved profile of the blade optimizes the cut angle while doubling the life of the blade. Having spent some time with this blade on a personal project, I will say it cuts like none other I have used.
The Jigsaw blades are manufactured in the U.S. using top-quality global materials. As for the company, it was founded in 1915 as the American Saw and Manufacturing Company and later became Lenox. It began with the production of hacksaw blades, and moved on to band saw blades (the number one item sold by the company). In 2003, Lenox was acquired by Newell Rubbermaid. The jigsaw blades were in the works before the latest acquisition in 2016, by Stanley Black & Decker.
This article originally appeared in Tools of the Trade.
