Diamond or Carbide saw?
For cutting relatively soft materials, the carbide saw is the best choice. For harder materials, perhaps a diamond saw is the way to go. Here’s why….. It is necessary to start with basic principles here. Firstly, the commonly used nomenclature is not exactly correct. While the carbide really is a saw, the diamond is rather a grinder. The tips of the carbide picks, or tusks, penetrate between the grains of the cut material and rip whole grains or little chunks of material out. .The “tips” of the diamond blade have no sharp tips to speak of. They are made of flat diamond filled abrasive segments, that grind away the material under attack. Carbide Saw Picks Tips of diamond blade Metal Saw blade The carbide needs brute force or torque and limited speed, the diamond needs speed and not too much pressure. If the material is sufficiently soft compared to the carbide tipped pick, the energy transfer is more efficiently accomplished by ripping it by the carbide tusks even when a lot of energy
