The following things will be important in selecting the correct diamond blade for your application.

1. Knowing the type of the saw being used - Select the right type of the diamond blade for your cutting material and saw. For use walk behind flat saw or gas cut-off saw, you would have to choose the diamond blade that is suitable to machine's horsepower and RPM range for having the maximum cutting performance and better blade life. Laser Welded diamond blades will be the best choose to deliver the lowest cost per cut on most cutting equipments.
2. Decide dry or wet cutting - Choosing dry or wet may be a matter of user preference or job requirement. When using a power hand tool such as a power hand saw, it is not safe to use water because of the electrical power source. However for concrete saws, wet cutting is usually preferred because you can cut deeper when using water as a coolant. For tile and masonry saws, either wet or dry cutting blades can be used. For gas cut-off saws, dry blades are more popular, but they are often used wet to control dust. Dry cutting blades may be used either dry or wet, but Wet cutting blades MUST be used with water. Water may be used to help keep down dust and provide better cooling and lubrication and improve cutting speed and life.
3. Knowing the cutting material - Correctly identifying the material to be cut is the most important factor in choosing a blade. Each diamond blade has different type of diamond grit size, metal powder and level of diamond concentration. Choose the right diamond blade would give you the maximum cutting performance and longer blade life. In order for a diamond blade to work properly, the diamond type, quality and grit size must be suited for the saw and the material. The metal matrix must also be matched to the material to be cut. Harder and dense (less abrasive) materials (such as tile, hard brick, stone or hard cured concrete) require diamond tools made with a softer metal matrix. The softer metal matrix wears faster, replacing worn-out diamond fast enough for the blade to keep cutting. Softer and abrasive materials (such as block, asphalt or green concrete) require diamond tools made with a hard metal matrix to resist abrasion and hold the diamond longer which provide efficient cutting performance and longer blade life. A general purpose or multi purpose diamond blades may be the best choice if a variety of materials will be cut. The bond materials in the segment can use a harder bond to maximize the life of the diamond tool.

Diamond Blade Types - Diamond blades are produced using a few different manufacturing processes. The diamond cutting portion of a blade is made from a mixture of diamond and metal powders. The components and proportion of this can be varied to produce properties for different applications.

• The "Hot-Pressed Sintered" diamond blades have the diamond cutting rim or segment formed and bonded directly to the steel core in a high temperature and high pressure process. Sintered blades usually cost less and prefer to use for samll jobs.
• The "Laser Welded" diamond blades have pre-formed diamond segment fused to the steel core with a high power laser. This process will result in a weld that is as strong as the steel core itself and can withstand higher temperatures during dry cutting. The laser welded diamond blades are usually preferred for larger diameter blades and more demanding applications. Laser welded blades cost higher and prefer to use for large job to deliver the lowest cost per cut.
• The "Brazed" diamond blades have pre-formed diamond segment fused to the steel core with a high temperature solder. The diamond cutting edge of this kind of blade may be made as a continuous rim or segmented by various shaped and sized slots or gullets.

Select blade with or without undercut protection - Undercutting is where the steel core wears just under the point of the segment is attached due to cutting an abrasive materials. There is various form of undercut protection such as Slant Drop Segment, Drop Segment or Carbide Tip Inserts for added to the design of blades intended to cut abrasive materials such as asphalt and green concrete.