Edgediamond have a vested interest in blade quality. After spending years on the research and development front, they have a product range to really shout about. "It´s important that you get a good blade for your money, which is what edge are all about." Says Ian Clarke, Managing director. No two diamond blades are the same and here´s some important aspects that can make a surprising difference. The metals used to "bond" the diamonds to the blade segments can often be skimped on to save production costs. Iron (Fe) is used as a cheap alternative to the better, longer lasting (and more expensive) Cobalt, Nickel and Tungsten bonds. You can always tell a cheap blade when there´s rust on the segment. Diamond grit can vary in quality and size and only the best quality goes into an edge blade. Many poor quality blades have a low diamond concentration and a large area with no diamond at all (the "free back" at the bottom of a segment). About two weeks ago, I was shopping at a local supermarket in search of a tin opener. Much to my wifes protest, I dismissively invested in a 60p tin opening tool. My girlfriend insisted I spend the extra few pounds on the expensive, plastic handled tin opener that looked like it had arrived from space. Weeks later the cheap tin opener is worn out where, no doubt, had I just listened to my trusty life companion, I would have the same, more expensive tin opener for years to come. Diamond blades are of course, quite different but the analogy is so relevant. Through a lack of awareness of what´s available, consumers spend more money on cheap rubbish. Edge´s ethos is to supply highest quality blades at the best possible price. OK, so we might not be able to compete against a GBP 5 blade on price, but wait until you´ve bought twenty of them, to do the work that one edge blade can do. In the last 6 - 9 months, diamond manufacturers have begun producing multi material diamond blades. Originally a diamond blade would be used for a single purpose, and if the user deviated from this purpose, the blade could be destroyed very quickly. Now there are blades available that will see the costs associated with blade abuse disappear. If your still using abrasive discs to cut steel or iron you might want to check out the edge MUT5. A blade that outlasts an abrasive disc by 500 times and can be used in any hard builders material. Knowing what you´re buying can save a fortune in new blades and downtime.