Side Story: Saw Blades

So Many Choices...

When we first approached this story on saw blades, the manufacturers and blade choices seemed so overwhelming that we decided to ask the companies to tell us about their product lines and what makes them different from their competitors. Here are just a few of the responses that we received.

Chris Athanitis
Product Manager for Abrasives &
Diamond Wheels, DeWALT
We feel our product is a premium grade professional product for several reasons. DeWALT has put all of their effort into designing the appropriate product — the right diamond size, the right diamond quality, and the right diamond concentration. Controls are in place on our manufacturing side to make sure the product is consistent. There is even diamond distribution throughout the segment, which is key for optimal performance.

The second part of that is we have laser-welded segments as opposed to sintered segments, which produces a longer life for the product. There's less opportunity for the segment to chip or break off, and it also does not expose the blade core to all that heat, which increases the life of the blade.

We also have a flexible arbor where each blade is packed with a brass adapter to allow the blade to be used on tools that have a 20mm arbor and also 1" arbors. That's a huge advantage because then you don't have to have two blades — one 20mm and one 1" — for the different tools that you have. On top of all of that we've tried to educate the end user, so on the packaging we've added the appropriate material and tool that the blade is to be used with.

Sean Thompson
Co-owner of THL Diamond
THL Diamond has come out with a new style of turbo, slanted segmented blades, which we call a slanted T-seg. It cuts a little faster and still lasts long like a segmented blade, so it has the life span, the durability and the speed of cut that masons want.

As far as the segment height, some of the larger companies haven't even caught up yet. We've bumped those up to a full 12mm, which is good for the contractor because they'll get more wear and tear for their money. The standard in the industry I think is still 7-8mm.

THL Diamond is also factory direct, while a lot of our competitors are more the distributors or middlemen. We own and operate a couple of plants overseas, and we're ISO 9002 for quality standards. We can provide a quality product and save mason contractors a lot of money.

Bruce Coleman
Product Manager, Multiquip
The SideWinder series is nothing more than a more technically advanced way that we feel someone can place a cutting product onto a machine and make it operate even more effective than what they consider a standard designed diamond blade.

It's a very unique design, it involves a certain blade and diamond design within the core of the unit to enable the machine to cut faster, and we certainly feel lasts as long as any other product. The claim to fame on the SideWinder series is we claim it to be the fastest cutting blade you can buy for that money.

We guarantee the product unconditionally which, if you think about it, is pretty impressive. No one gives this type of guarantee. What also separates Multiquip is the infrastructure: 75 authorized service centers nationwide, the full breadth of our technical and inside sales team, 40+ direct sales persons at any one time running around the country selling, supporting and fixing, and insuring that we are doing a good job. It's this huge, teamwork of after-sales support that sets us apart.

Edward J. Dempsey
President, Value Diamond Tool Company
I began selling diamond tools in 1958 while attending Occidental College in Los Angeles, and building and designing tools and machinery using diamond bits and blades since 1961. As a result of this long and in-depth experience with diamond cutting, I believed two solid principles were lacking in the industry: the accurate testing of all diamond tools offered; and low mark-up of diamond tools to promote high volume.

Value Diamond Tool Company uses six testing machines to evaluate cutting speed and wear rate. Before any tools are offered for sale they are tested thoroughly and completely to make sure the customer gets real value for his dollars spent. Addressing these two principles has proven to be an excellent strategy as repeat orders are the backbone of our sales.

The Value Diamond team use their real world experience to find solutions to difficult and unusual cutting needs. We will work with you to reduce your company's labor costs and improve your diamond tool life, making your company's cutting operations more efficient.