Diamond Blades: Why a Tiler Needs to Know More Than Just One Brand
When tilers talk about diamond blades, most of them immediately think of Distar. The brand undoubtedly offers quality products, but its popularity is often driven by marketing and habit. Many forget that there are other brands on the market that can deliver equally good – or in certain situations even better – performance.
Diamond blades have a long history of development. The companies that manufacture them have been active in the tiling trade for years, listening to craftsmen and adjusting design and composition based on their feedback. Each brand approaches this differently – and it’s precisely in this diversity that their strength lies.
Sigma has a long tradition of toolmaking in Italy, where it has built a reputation for precision cutting and attention to detail. Montolit has focused for decades on robust, universal solutions – ideal where reliability is needed under tough conditions. BIHUI, a younger brand, quickly earned recognition thanks to a combination of affordability and reliability, making it a popular choice for a wide range of tilers. And then there’s PRO5, which has entered the market in recent years with the goal of offering a balanced price-to-quality ratio, without overblown marketing, but with a strong focus on practical use.
Of course, there are many more brands out there, but here I’m focusing only on the ones I know and have personal experience with.
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When a blade “doesn’t cut” – is it really the blade’s fault?
A common mistake among tilers is to immediately call a blade poor quality when it doesn’t perform as expected. In reality, though, the problem often lies elsewhere:
- Not knowing the blade’s true characteristics: e.g. using a blade designed for wet cutting in a dry setup.
- Neglecting maintenance: the blade gets clogged and naturally loses efficiency.
- Not rejuvenating the segment: the diamond layer needs to be “cut through” from time to time on a dressing stone or abrasive material to expose fresh diamonds. Without this, even the best blade loses performance.
- Using it on the wrong material: a fine blade for porcelain won’t cope with what a robust segmented blade for stone can handle.
- Under-speeding the blade: every blade has clearly defined operating RPM. If it’s used in cordless tools without enough power, the RPM drops, the blade doesn’t cut properly, dulls faster, or even gets damaged.
A blade is not a universal pair of scissors. It’s a precision tool that requires correct handling, regular cleaning, sufficient machine power, and above all segment rejuvenation to cut the way it should.
Why relying only on marketing is a mistake
Big names in the market are visible because they invest heavily in advertising. But that doesn’t mean blades from Sigma, Montolit, BIHUI, or PRO5 aren’t worth trying. On the contrary – each of these brands has its place and can offer a different cutting character, service life, or price-to-performance ratio.
Summary
- Every brand has experience and history, reflected in their products.
- No brand is flawless – quality also depends on usage, the right tools, and proper maintenance.
- A common issue is under-speeding blades in cordless machines – without sufficient power, they will never deliver a full cut.
- There are many more brands on the market, but here I’ve focused only on those I know from practice.
- A tiler who understands brand differences and masters maintenance and segment rejuvenation will always have a better tool in hand than someone who relies only on the logo.