The History and Evolution of Diamond Blades
The
first diamond blades were invented by a man named Richard Felker during
the World War II era. Called “Rimlock” blades, this chemist
and pharmacist saw the ineffective metal blades being used for cutting
tile and stone and believed there was a better way. When WWII began,
Felker had developed several cutoff machines with blades that could
handle cutting quartz frequency crystals used in radios and walkie-talkies
in the war effort.
A diamond blade isn’t really a blade at all. While it does
cut brick and stone, it’s more a grinding wheel than it is a blade;
you can’t really cut yourself with it, but you can grind some meat
off your foot or hand pretty quickly. When I have new guys working for
me, I’d laugh when they’d tell me a blade wasn’t sharp
anymore because it wasn’t cutting very well.
The way a diamond blade works is pretty much like a grinding wheel,
too. Tiny bits of diamond are impregnated in a metal matrix at the outer
edge of the blade. The exposed portion of the diamond is what does the
cutting. As the diamonds are worn down, so is the metal matrix, allowing
the spent diamond bits to be expelled from the blade, exposing new diamonds
beneath to continue cutting.
In more recent years,
significant development has been happening to make blades work more
quickly and efficiently. One of the more important advancements in this
area is improved air flow around the cutting surface and water cooling
for portable saws. It’s too easy for masonry saw operators to
get overly involved in the cutting of material and forget about allowing
the blade to cool. This usually leads to premature blade wear, and big
expenses for you. You’ll find more on the topic of blade choice
in this section, and more about choosing blades that stay cooler while
cutting.
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