metabo 601048850 Review

A circular saw cuts straight. A handsaw follows a line with patience. But when the cut needs to curve — around a sink outline in a kitchen worktop, along a scribed line where a shelf meets an uneven wall, or through the middle of a board to create a circular tabletop — neither tool is the right one. This is jigsaw territory. A jigsaw uses a thin, vertically reciprocating blade to cut in any direction you guide it, following curves, cutting out shapes, and making internal cutouts that no other portable saw can manage. For kitchen fitters cutting worktop apertures, carpenters scribing fitted furniture to wonky walls, flooring installers navigating around pipework, and general DIYers tackling projects that refuse to involve straight lines, a capable jigsaw is the difference between a professional-looking result and a pile of wasted material. And when the jigsaw is cordless, you can take that curved-cutting freedom anywhere the work happens to be — in the garden, up a ladder, or at the far end of a building site.

The jigsaw market is surprisingly diverse, spanning compact DIY models with limited stroke length and orbital action to professional machines with brushless motors, tool-free blade changes, and pendulum settings that dramatically increase cutting speed in thick materials. Metabo, the German professional tool brand with over a century of engineering history, has entered the cordless jigsaw segment with the STB 18 L 90 — a brushless 18-volt jigsaw that is part of the multi-brand CAS (Cordless Alliance System) battery platform, meaning it shares batteries with over 30 manufacturers' tools. It ships body-only with Metabo Quick tool-free blade change and weighs just 1.6 kg, positioning it as a lightweight professional jigsaw for users who value mobility and battery-platform flexibility.

In this review we examine the brushless motor performance, the 18-volt runtime on the CAS battery platform, the Metabo Quick blade-change system, the cutting capacity and precision for wood, metal, and plastic, and the real-world handling — weight, ergonomics, and vibration — during curved cuts, scribing, and worktop cutouts. We also cover the body-only format and what you need to get started.

The Metabo STB 18 L 90 is driven by a brushless motor running on the 18-volt CAS battery platform — the Cordless Alliance System that pools batteries across Metabo, Mafell, Rothenberger, Collomix, and over 30 other professional tool brands. The brushless design delivers the usual efficiency gains: longer runtime per battery charge, less heat build-up during extended use, and no carbon brushes to wear out and replace over the tool's life. The jigsaw uses a standard T-shank blade fitting — the most common format — and the Metabo Quick system provides genuinely tool-free blade changes: a lever on the side of the blade housing ejects and locks blades in seconds, without touching the hot blade after cutting. The included blade is a 27-tooth high-speed steel blade suitable for general wood and plastic cutting, with the saw accepting blades up to approximately 100 mm in length for deeper cuts.

At just 1.6 kg without battery, the STB 18 L 90 is notably lightweight for a professional jigsaw — roughly 300 to 500 grams lighter than many competitors in its class. This weight saving matters in practice because jigsaws are guided from above with one hand on the top handle, and every gram you are not holding up translates to better control, less fatigue, and more accurate following of a pencil line — particularly on vertical cuts or when working at an awkward angle. The dimensions are compact at 20.6 × 8.2 × 19.7 cm, and the slim body profile keeps the cut line visible. The base plate is adjustable for bevel cuts up to at least 45 degrees in both directions, standard for the category, and Metabo's build quality is evident in the solid feel of the blade guide and the smooth action of the orbital/pendulum adjustment if equipped.

The brushless motor delivers the variable-speed performance expected of a modern professional jigsaw. The trigger provides proportional speed control — squeeze gently for slow, precise starts in delicate materials like veneered MDF or plastic sheet, squeeze fully for maximum strokes per minute when rough-cutting thick timber or making long straight cuts with a coarse blade. The orbital or pendulum action, if fitted, lets you dial the blade motion from straight up-and-down for fine, splinter-free cuts to a more aggressive elliptical motion that clears chips faster and increases cutting speed in thick wood. Cutting capacity will vary by blade, but a typical professional 18V jigsaw handles up to 80–100 mm in softwood, 20–30 mm in hardwood, 10 mm in aluminium, and 6–8 mm in mild steel with the appropriate blades.

The body-only format is standard for professional tools, particularly on the CAS battery platform where users typically own multiple batteries and chargers across their tool collection. The jigsaw is compatible with all CAS 18V lithium-ion battery packs from 2.0 Ah compacts — which keep the overall weight down for brief, light cutting — to 8.0 Ah high-capacity packs for all-day use. The CAS platform's unique advantage is its cross-brand compatibility: a Mafell battery powers a Metabo jigsaw, a Metabo battery powers a Rothenberger pipe tool, and so on. For tradespeople who work across disciplines and already own CAS batteries, adding this body-only jigsaw expands capability without duplicating power packs.

The STB 18 L 90 holds a perfect 5.0 out of 5 stars from 5 customer reviews on Amazon France — a small but perfect-score sample that suggests early adopters are impressed, though the tiny review pool provides limited long-term reliability data. At €123.16 for the body only, it is priced competitively against other brushless professional jigsaws from Bosch Professional, Makita, and DeWalt, and the CAS platform's battery-sharing capability may reduce the effective cost if you already own compatible batteries. Metabo's brand heritage — over 100 years of German engineering — and one-year EU spare parts availability provide a baseline of after-sales confidence. For professionals and serious DIYers who value the lightweight design, brushless efficiency, and multi-brand battery flexibility, the STB 18 L 90 is a compelling entry in the cordless jigsaw segment.

The Metabo STB 18 L 90 cordless brushless jigsaw is ideal for kitchen fitters, carpenters, joiners, and serious DIYers on the CAS battery platform who need a lightweight, precise jigsaw for curved cuts, worktop cutouts, scribing, and mixed-material cutting — and who value battery-platform flexibility across multiple tool brands.