drillman,
I hate hole saws. They make ragged sharp holes, they bind and twist, they throw shavings all over the place and they are next to impossible to center.
The Blair bits make a hole as clean as a knock out punch. We don't use punches for 1" and smaller conduit. The hole saw is much faster.
You are correct that you have to watch out for the chips, but other than than I have no issue with them. However if you are talking about some of the other types of hole saws, I would fully agree with your comments.
Don
