Which Demolition Sawzall Blades Brand Wins?
In our test 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.
Avanti
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“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.”
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Tooth design
- 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
- 2Avanti Avanti Pro
same tooth design as Diablo, described as Swiss made; less tall than Diablo
- 3Milwaukee Axe5
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'
- 4Lenox6
TPI, described as a very conservative tooth design compared to the competition
- 5DeWalt6
TPI but a much more aggressive tooth design than the Warrior; a light, not-very-tall blade
- 6Warrior
conservative tooth design with not a lot of blade offset; host predicts on sight that it will twist like a pretzel on impact
Initial 2x4 nail speed test
- 1Diablo
no visible damage to the teeth
- 2Avanti Avanti Pro
no damage to the teeth; paint definitely not as good as the Diablo
- 3Milwaukee Axe
no visible damage
- 4Lenox
no visible damage
- 5DeWalt
did really good; other than a little bit of paint loss there was no visible damage to the teeth
- 6Warrior
survived the test but sustained some damage to the teeth; was also the slowest blade in the competition
Landscaping nail / 4x4 chip clearance test
- 1Diablo
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
- 2Avanti Avanti Pro
did a great job cutting through the board and the nail; paint again noted as worse than Diablo
- 3Milwaukee Axe
first place; the aggressive tooth design helped it manage wood and metal shavings very effectively
- 4Lenox
did a very impressive job; quite a bit of paint loss and some of the metal appeared darkened from heat
- 5DeWalt
did a lot better than the Warrior but definitely fell behind the others
- 6Warrior
didn't do well, experienced a lot of heat, took nearly twice as long as the competition to cut through the board
Drywall screw test (4x4, 6 screws, up to 2 min)
- 1Diablo
second place, narrowly beaten by the Avanti
- 2Avanti Avanti Pro
first place, narrowly beating the Diablo; host says another few seconds and it would have cut all the way through
- 3Milwaukee Axe
the aggressive tooth design caused the blade to dull before finishing the competition, underperforming relative to the nail test
- 4Lenox
a respectable third place
- 5DeWalt
did not do too well, narrowly beating only the Warrior
- 6Warrior
last place, narrowly beaten (i.e. beaten last) by the DeWalt
Pretzel / impact bend test
- 1Diablo
one of the taller blades that the host says did just fine in this test; no damage described
- 2Avanti Avanti Pro
some minor bending, which the host attributes to the blade design needing a little more steel; blade not destroyed
- 3Milwaukee Axe
grouped among the taller/heavier blades the host says did just fine; no damage described
- 4Lenox
grouped among the taller/heavier blades the host says did just fine; no damage described
- 5DeWalt
experienced a slight bend but was not destroyed
- 6Warrior
sustained the most damage of all blades tested
Weight
- 3Milwaukee Axe77 g2nd
the second heaviest blade tested
- 4Lenox87 g
the heaviest blade tested
- 6Warrior
the lightest of all blades tested
- 1Diablonot tested
- 2Avanti Avanti Pronot tested
- 5DeWaltnot 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.”
