I end up burning through a fistful of bimetal reciprocating-saw blades on any job where I’m cutting through roofing, siding, drywall, flooring, framing, and loads of nails. I was skeptical about Diablo’s claims that its Demo Demon carbide-tipped blades would handle these cuts—especially nails, which usually cause carbide teeth to chip—but I figured that if they did work, I’d be getting more mileage from a single blade. I found that these blades did last longer than bimetal blades, especially when dealing with plaster and asphalt roofing, two materials that dull bimetal blades in no time. Embedded nails didn’t slow the blades much, either, and there were no missing teeth even after days of use.
Keep in mind, though, that these blades are thicker than ordinary bimetal recip blades and therefore carve out a wider kerf. In some cases, this was an advantage—for instance, keeping wood from binding the blade—but it also meant slower cuts, and it drained the batteries on my cordless reciprocating saw about 30% faster.
Also, they cost about $1 per in. of blade, which is roughly twice the cost of bimetal blades. Given that, I’m only planning to use them for cutting especially abrasive materials and will stick with bimetal blades for sawing through clean, nail-embedded wood.
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