There are many diamond blade choices in the industry.  Choosing the right blade for your application is critical to achieving the best result for your project.  Virginia Abrasives has redesigned our blades with the surface application printed right on the face of the blade providing a quick understanding of what the blade is designed to cut. In addition, a diamond blade categories reference chart has been created to provide additional details for a complete understanding of the blade characteristics.

How to interpret the diamond saw blade label

In the Virginia Abrasives branded letters of the blade label, the A contains a collection of characters to provide the user with additional blade details.  The Blade Category Type Definitions Key can be used to fully understand the compound structure of the blade. 

The first 2-3 letters represent the product type, which are defined below:

BD: "Basic Diamond" blades offer good diamond quality with basic diamond concentration. These blades have good performance and good product life.

UV: "Ultra Value" blades offer better diamond quality with increased diamond concentration. These have a better performance with better product life.

PRM: "Premium" blades offer premium diamond quality with higher diamond concentration. This blade has great performance and speed with the best product life.

SUP: "Supreme" blades offer the best quality and concentration of diamonds and are specifically engineered for long life in a professional use setting.

The number following the blade category represents the Diamond Concentration Rating.  The numbers range from 3 to 6, corresponding to "Good", "Better", "Best", and "Supreme".  The higher the number the higher the diamond concentration.

The next two characters represent the Segment Type of the blade.  In this case "SS" which represents "Standard Segment". They break down as follows.

• AT - Alternating Turbo
• CC - Crack Chasing
• CR - Continuous Rim
• CT - Continuous Turbo
• JS - J-Slot
• SS - Standard Segment
• TP - Tuck Point
• TS - Turbo Segment
• VT - Vented Turbo
• WS - Wedge Segment
• WT - Wedge Turbo
• US - U-Slot

See our Segment Wheel for an interactive look at those segment types or reference the picture below.

The final letter represents the bond, the material that holds the diamonds to the blade segments. The bond chosen for your blade should be based on the aggregate of the material you are cutting. The Bond types are:

• H - Hard
• M - Medium
• S – Soft

There are 3 basic rules for choosing the correct bond. 

1. When cutting soft aggregates, use a hard bond. 
2. When cutting hard aggregates use a soft bond.  
3. Medium bond is a multi-purpose bond and can be used on multiple surfaces.  

There are many factors that can be used to change and adjust bonds to specific aggregates/surfaces.  These bond categories are the basic building block for choosing the right diamond blade. 

Choosing the wrong blade can result in a poor cutting experience, shorter life, glazing or even overheating the blade.

Size

Diamond blades are made for a large variety of tool types. From angle grinders to hand saws, walk behind saws and road saws.  Virginia Abrasives offers blade sizes from 4” up to 48" in diameter for most all surface types.  Make sure you align the size of the blade to the tool you intend to use for the job.

Bringing it all together

We have developed a graphic to assist you when purchasing diamond blades for your projects that incorporates the concepts we've laid out in this article.  Here is the Diamond Blade Categories Type Definitions reference graphic. Feel free to download it or print it for your reference.

Apply these lessons in diamond blade categories for choosing the right option for your project. Check out our selection of diamond blades here.