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Tool Test: Demolition Blades

The price you pay for these reciprocating-saw blades doesn’t necessarily correspond to the performance you get

by David Crosby

Manufacturers have designed unique reciprocating-saw blades for cutting through a variety of specific materials. For demolition and remodeling work, though, a single blade is expected to cut through them all. One minute you’re in clean wood, the next you’re in wood with nails, plastic, insulation, joist hangers, steel studs, or worst of all, asphalt roofing. This type of work requires a demolition blade, and author David Crosby put 15 of these blades through an ordeal that tested their durability and flexibility. Despite these blades’ similarities, the testing revealed some rather dramatic differences in performance that didn't necessarily correspond with price. Crosby identifies the three most common sources of demolition blade destruction—heat, tooth damage, and bending—and describes how the best blades are designed to ward off destruction for as long as possible.

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From Fine Homebuilding213 , pp. 42-45 July 15, 2010

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