How to Choose the Best Diamond Blade

Choosing A Diamond Blade

A diamond blade is a saw blade designed to cut through dense, abrasive materials like concrete and asphalt. The process of cutting abrasive materials is much different than cutting through wood because the blade gets extremely hot due to friction. Not all are the same, but choosing the best for each job can be challenging. Let’s look at the cutting process, speed, and cutting methods to understand how to select the best diamond blade for your project.

Cutting Processes

They’re called a blade, but diamond blades don’t cut; they grind. Cutting with a one differs slightly from cutting wood or another soft material with a regular saw. Diamond blades scratch out particles of hard, dense materials instead of cutting straight through them. This process eventually cracks the tiny diamond particles embedded in the blade and renders the blade practically useless.

Cutting Speeds

Speed plays a big part in the life expectancy of a diamond blade. A saw operator who cuts slowly will extend the blade’s life; a saw operator who cuts faster will go through blades more quickly. There is a direct correlation between cutting speed and the blade’s life. Each project is different, so each contractor has different needs for diamond blades. Contractors with significant projects often choose blades designed to cut faster, so they understand frequent blade replacement will be an issue. This is an issue they’re willing to pay for because of the project’s scope.

Cutting Methods

These tool accessories are generally used for two cutting methods, wet and dry. Cutting concrete and other abrasive materials is a messy business.

Dry Cutting: Concrete dust harms the saw operator’s lungs and drifts with the airflow, affecting other people. This is fine on a job site where everyone will wear masks, but that only applies to some job sites. Dry cutting also causes more friction to the blade. This requires more frequent stops for the blade to cool and more blade changes as they wear out relatively quickly.

For those who don’t know, wet cutting refers to the dust created from cutting. The friction on the blade is much less than with dry cutting. With less friction, the saw operator doesn’t have to stop quite as frequently to allow the blade to cool. Ultimately, they perform better when cutting wet.

When to Replace

Diamond blades take more damage than your average saw blade due to the type of materials they go through. You can generally look at a diamond blade and tell when it needs replacement. The diamond particles will be worn down and smooth. Here are a few more tell-tale signs to replace your old tool.

Less Effective: A worn blade will cut much slower than it did when it was new. The diamond particles in the blade are the parts that do the work, so when they start to wear down, the cut will be much slower.
Smooth Blade: We just mentioned this one, but it’s worth saying again. You can see the diamond particles if you look at a new blade. A worn blade won’t have the exact definition between metal and diamond.
Glazed Blade: This is generally a sign that the blade has been used to cut something softer and less abrasive than the intended target. You may be able to bring the diamond particles back to life by cutting through an abrasive material but don’t bet on it.
Worn Teeth: Sometimes, the metal teeth wear down and must be replaced. The diamond particles may still be usable, but the blade needs to be replaced if the teeth aren’t good.