The hassle to get replacement blades for multi tools is a struggle many tradies deal with. Like shaver blade heads, the hassle and cost of constantly replacing them after a few uses does our heads in.
SEE MORE: Tradie Tough Tests
Diablo is known for leading the pack when it comes to delivering blades that take a licking and keep on kicking time after time. They’ve done it again with their massive selection of Multi Tool Blades, both for metal and timber cutting.
The Tradie caught up with Dave Simpson from JTR Carpentry to test out these blades. He’s working on a new property in Mount Martha, south-east of Melbourne. The house is about half-way through development, so Dave needed an oscilating multi tool for working on metal brackets and some tough timber cladding.
TEST #1: NOT A SCRATCH
A big bonus when working with Diablo blades is that tradies are using the brand’s in-house manufactured carbide. This meant these durable blades were built to last for extended use in their specific application.
Dave went through a tonne of metal brackets for us, testing out both the 32mm general purpose and metal carbide blades. These bad boys last 50x longer than standard bi-metal blades, and Dave noticed the difference immediately.
“It didn’t take long for us to see how awesome these blades are,” he said. “We cut uite a few brackets and every single time it’s cut just as quickly and efficiently as the first one.”
An issue tradies run into when using blades like this is, the more blades heat up, the quicker they go blunt. This simply wasn’t the case with the Diablo carbide blades, which have Black I.C.E (Industrial Cooling Element) coated teeth to minimise this.
“It’s the absolute worst when the blade starts heating up and the teeth start to melt away,” Dave pointed out. “This blade reduces that a tonne, so we found we can use these for a lot longer.”
Combine these elements with a tooth geometry that allows for quick cutting, and this small job was done in record time.
TEST #2: THE CHOPPING BLOCK
Next up was the timber cladding, where Dave needed to make accurate cuts into window frames. Dave put the 65mm bi-metal plunge-cutting blade to the test for this, using the curve contact edge on clean wood. He also used the 32mm universal bi-metal blade for some smaller cuts.
Both made quick plunges into the wood, making for an accurate job for Dave. These blades last up to 5x longer than standard blades, and Dave loved the lack of mess they left. All blades come with Starlock and Universal attachment options, and Dave tested both using various multi tools.
“My favourite ones are the Starlock system blades. It’s the best mechanism I’ve ever seen to quickly attach a blade,” he said.
“I regularly switch between the bi-metal general purpose and plunge blade for timber, and having the Starlock system makes that so easy to change the blades, but also to change the angles I’m working with.”
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
Dave was grinning ear-to-ear knowing how quickly he’d be getting multi tool jobs done in future. These jobs are often small yet numerous, meaning a tool that’s quick and durable is needed.
Whether it was the carbide or bi-metal blades, the Diablo Multi Tool Blades excelled in both the aforementioned departments. You can get blades separately, or you can get an Ultimate Oscilating Blade Set which comes with five bi-metal blades with either Starlock or Universal attachments.