The carbide hacksaw blade I bought was one of the best investments I've ever made.
Cut the cutting time in half - easily. The blade takes a good beating too. Well worth it.
I must have used 4 blades cutting one single mid-size piece off one Nakayama.
I've used the Carbide blades on 8-10 stones before having to replace it.
i just cut a Thuri yesterday with a diamond tipped (Bosch) blade on my B and D hand-held jigsaw (30 bucks at Home depot). Worked like a charm and took all of 20 seconds.