2018 test6 productsBlades, Bits & Abrasives
Which Demolition Sawzall Blades Brand Wins?
We compared 6 demolition sawzall blades options head to head. Diablo came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Runner-up
Avanti
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Tooth design | Initial 2x4 nail speed test | Landscaping nail / 4x4 chip clearance test | Drywall screw test (4x4, 6 screws, up to 2 min) | Pretzel / impact bend test | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Diablo | same tooth design as Avanti Pro, described as both being Swiss made and possibly made in the same factory; taller blade design than Avanti with a different paint | no visible damage to the teeth | a little bit slower than the Avanti, which the host attributes to the taller blade design allowing some pinch; quite a bit of paint was lost during the test but the blade itself showed no signs of issues; paint still looked pretty good afterward, using a much better paint system than the Avanti Pro despite the loss | second place, narrowly beaten by the Avanti | one of the taller blades that the host says did just fine in this test; no damage described | not tested |
| 2Avanti Avanti Pro | same tooth design as Diablo, described as Swiss made; less tall than Diablo | no damage to the teeth; paint definitely not as good as the Diablo | did a great job cutting through the board and the nail; paint again noted as worse than Diablo | first place, narrowly beating the Diablo; host says another few seconds and it would have cut all the way through | some minor bending, which the host attributes to the blade design needing a little more steel; blade not destroyed | not tested |
| 3Milwaukee Axe | 5 TPI, described as the most aggressive tooth design and most aggressive tooth offset of all blades tested; marketed claim per the video: 'claims to last five times longer than the competition' | no visible damage | first place; the aggressive tooth design helped it manage wood and metal shavings very effectively | the aggressive tooth design caused the blade to dull before finishing the competition, underperforming relative to the nail test | grouped among the taller/heavier blades the host says did just fine; no damage described | 77 g, the second heaviest blade tested |
| 4Lenox | 6 TPI, described as a very conservative tooth design compared to the competition | no visible damage | did a very impressive job; quite a bit of paint loss and some of the metal appeared darkened from heat | a respectable third place | grouped among the taller/heavier blades the host says did just fine; no damage described | 87 g, the heaviest blade tested |
| 5DeWalt | 6 TPI but a much more aggressive tooth design than the Warrior; a light, not-very-tall blade | did really good; other than a little bit of paint loss there was no visible damage to the teeth | did a lot better than the Warrior but definitely fell behind the others | did not do too well, narrowly beating only the Warrior | experienced a slight bend but was not destroyed | not tested |
| 6Warrior | conservative tooth design with not a lot of blade offset; host predicts on sight that it will twist like a pretzel on impact | survived the test but sustained some damage to the teeth; was also the slowest blade in the competition | didn't do well, experienced a lot of heat, took nearly twice as long as the competition to cut through the board | last place, narrowly beaten (i.e. beaten last) by the DeWalt | sustained the most damage of all blades tested | the lightest of all blades tested |
How it was tested
- initial cutting speed test: 2x4 with 3/16 penny nails embedded
- landscaping nail test: 4x4 with an embedded landscaping nail, assessing cutting speed and wood/metal chip clearance
- drywall screw test: 4x4 with six drywall screws embedded, up to 2 minutes per blade, assessing speed and damage
- pretzel test: blade dropped against a fixed bump stop to assess bending/impact damage
“So, which blade do I like the best? I really like that Diablo quite a bit. It seems to be the best overall blade with that 612 TPI and it just seems to be quite durable.”