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.
