Relative quality hacksaw blade

[Martin Pansch]

I have been using the Lenox bi-metal hacksaw blades, usually 18 TPI for my general hand sawing on steel. Have been happy with them, especially compare to the hardware store brands. For 10" blades they are running around $2.50 a blade or so. I see some old new stock Starrett High Speed Steel (HSS) blades on eBay for around $0.92 a blade. Both Starrett and Lenox are solid brands so are probably similar high quality.

Your opinions: Is a good bimetal blade worth 2 1/2 times a good HSS blade? Do you have a favorite brand? Do you have a source for good, cheaper blades?

I have stopped buying cheap hacksaw blades altogether. They are only cheap when you don't factor in the number of blades you go through, time taken changing blades, and the lousy cuts they make when they get dull and you try to squeak ONE MORE CUT out before changing them.