What Is The Difference Between A Rip Saw Blade And A Cross Cut Saw Blade?

Generally speaking, a plank (presuming that’s what you want
to cut) has directional fibers. The fibers lie in length with the grain of the
wood. A ripping blade has course teeth which easily remove the fibers when
cutting with the grain and a crosscut blade has finer teeth to cut across the
grain so as to cut the fibers rather than rip them. Using a crosscut blade on a
rip application would clog the teeth and cause burning and difficulty in
cutting and using a ripping blade on a crosscut will chip the wood and give a
rough cut and can also dangerously throw the plank around or jamb up during the
cut. You do however get multi purpose blades that will do both cuts for the
handyman where treated dry woods are being cut. Either way, you should be very careful
when using saws and wear the necessary safety equipment.

A rip saw blade has teeth that are sharpened like little chisels.  These blades are used to cut parallel to the grain of the wood.  Cross cut blades have teeth that are sharpened like little knives so that they slice through the grain of the wood.