Diablo Carbide Oscillating Blades Offer Universal Compatibility and Longer Life

As a professional in the trades, you can find yourself plunge-cutting through tough materials like metal and nail-embedded wood with an oscillating tool. Having to change your blade less frequently lessens downtime and leads to better overall results. Luckily, Diablo designed their carbide oscillating blades to stand the test of time and help you deliver precise cuts in tough applications.

Diablo Carbide Oscillating Blades – The Big Deal

Two types of Diablo carbide oscillating blades are available: a curved contact edge version for general-purpose cuts and a straight-edge carbide tooth version for fast cuts through metal. Both blade styles are available in various sizes and feature either a universal fit or a Starlock interface.

Diablo claims the carbide oscillating blades have a lifespan of up to 50X longer than standard bi-metal blades. Additionally, they feature Black I.C.E. (Industrial Cooling Agent) coated teeth that provide heat resistance and chip evacuation.

For the curved, general-purpose blades, Diablo tells us to expect extreme durability when cutting in materials like nail-embedded wood, clean wood, metal, plastic, and PVC. The blades’ curved edge was designed to create a pilot in your material to help with precise cuts. It’s also supposed to reduce vibration, leading to longer blade life.

The universal interface features an adapter-free design that makes it compatible with all oscillating tool brands. The Starlock interface is compatible with Starlock-fitting tools, as well as some non-Starlock multi-tools from several brands. Bosch, Makita, Milwaukee, Ridgid, and Festool tools support this interface.

If you have a Craftsman, DeWalt, Dremel, Hart, or Porter-Cable brand oscillating tool, you should stick with the universal fit.

Additional Features

• 1-1/2-inch cutting depth
• Starlock curved-edge blades available in widths of 1-1/4-inch or 3-1/8-inch
• Universal curved-edge blades available in widths of 1-1/4-inch or 2-3/4-inch

Our Thoughts

Having extensively tested to find the best oscillating multi-tool, we have some familiarity with accessories. We can’t help but note the use of three open areas on the curved blades. Those should help clear debris when performing deeper cuts into wood. Blade composition matters, but so does an accessory’s ability to clear material from the cutting path!

You get a similar result from the narrow throat on the straight 1.25-inch carbide oscillating multi-tool blades. This is a great design overall.

Price

There are several configurations for Diablo’s carbide oscillating blades, so there’s no one price. For the single blades, expect to pay anywhere from $20 to $40, depending on which size and interface you prefer.

There are also 3-pack combinations available, which will cost $43 or more. With the three-packs, you’re saving around 30% in the long run, so we like that option. We have yet to see multi-packs of the curved blade carbide blades.

Specifications

• Cut depth: 1-1/2 in
• Material: Metal
• Compatibility: Universal; Starlock
• Tooth design: Carbide
• Width of cut: 1-1/4 in; 3-1/8 in

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Milwaukee Multi-Tool Blades Expansion Coming in August

Milwaukee Tool continues to expand its line of cutting solutions with the introduction of carbide-toothed multi-tool blades. The expansion, slated for an August release, will tackle multi-material, metal, wood, and specialty oscillating multi-tool blades. You can also expect the lineup to feature the Universal Open-Lok Connection for quick blade changes. Overall, this looks like the largest expansion since Milwaukee Tool acquired Imperial Blades back in 2018.

Milwaukee Multi-Tool Blades Expansion

Clearly, Milwaukee Tool has thrown out the rules with this latest expansion. It clearly shows that they are putting a significant amount of resources into the development of not only standard material cutting, but specialty uses as well. That makes sense given the company’s focus on MEP and tradesmen. Below we go through the lineup which includes everything from metal-and wood-cutting solutions to innovative 5-in-1 blades and curved solutions for carpet installers. If you start with one of the best cordless oscillating multi-tools and then add one of these blades—you should find yourself in very good shape.

Titanium Enhanced Extreme Materials Carbide Teeth Blades

Intended for use with wood, screws, cement board, plaster, and other cutting applications, the Titanium Enhanced Carbide Teeth Extreme Materials Blades offer as much as 50x the life of standard bi-metal blades. The blades also feature a thinner and aggressive tooth design that cuts more quickly, particularly in wood. This blade measures in at 1-3/8″ wide.

Titanium Enhanced Extreme Metal Carbide Teeth Blades

Similar to the aforementioned blades, the Extreme Metal Blade can tackle a wide range of materials, though these will focus primarily on the world of metals. Screws, bolts, metal pipe, and nails all fall into this blade’s wheelhouse. You should have an instant appreciation of this blade if you ever made a couple of cuts with bi-metal only to find most of the teeth flattened out.

Milwaukee claims that the titanium enhancement gives these carbide teeth the durability to last up to 50x longer than standard bi-metal blades. They feature the Open-Lok connection and are 1-3/8″ wide.

Milwaukee Titanium Enhanced Bi-Metal Multi-Material Multi-Tool Blades

These Open-Lok connection blades are made from high-speed steel and enhanced with Milwaukee’s titanium coating. They’re suited for work with wood, nails, PVC, and drywall. You can pick them up in 3/8″, 1-1/4″, 1-3/8″, 2-1/2″, and 3-1/2″ widths.

Titanium Enhanced Bi-Metal Metal Blades

For soft metals, the Milwaukee Titanium Enhanced Bi-Metal Metal Blades fit the bill. Made from high-speed steel and featuring a unique tooth form, they excel in cutting anything from soft metals and wood to PVC and drywall. These blades are available in 1-1/8″ and 1-3/4″ widths.

Japanese Tooth Hardwood Blades

For even more control in hardwood cutting applications, Milwaukee has the Japanese Tooth Pro-Curve Hardwood Oscillating Multi-Tool Blades. These also feature the Universal Fit Open-Lok connection, and they’re made from high carbon steel.

The precision tips on these blades have triple-ground Japanese teeth with Milwaukee’s Pro-Curve technology. This not only increases your accuracy, but it also speeds up your cuts by up to 2 times when compared to standard wood blades.

These blades are our favorite for hardwood applications (think flooring). However, you can also use them with softwoods, PVC, drywall, and other soft materials. They come in 1-3/8″ and 2-1/2″ widths.

Milwaukee Wood Oscillating Tool Blades

The Milwaukee wood blades utilize a high-carbon steel with edge-ground teeth to give users great performance in wood, drywall, and other soft materials. These multi-tooth blades have a longer blade body and aggressive tooth design to deliver faster cuts than Milwaukee’s previous generation of wood multi-tool blades. They come in 1-3/8″, 2-1/2″, and 3-1/2″ widths.

Milwaukee Oscillating Multi-Tool Blades Expansion Summary

These blades cover just about everything—and in a way that makes them last longer in your tool bag. We like that. It also doesn’t go past us that these blades bear the Milwaukee Tool logo in lieu of the Imperial Blades markings. That’s just good marketing and we suspect the SKUs are identical in all but the labeling and where you can find them for sale.

Does it sound like the Milwaukee Multi-Tool Blade line overlaps in a lot of places? Is it difficult to nail down exactly what the best blade for your project is? Well, Milwaukee has provided this helpful table to help you tailor your selection to the project at hand.

Milwaukee Specialty Blades for Oscillating Multi-tools

But wait, Milwaukee hasn’t finished with this Multi-Tool blade expansion yet. They’ve also got a stable of specialty blades for more particularized jobs.

All of Milwaukee’s specialty blades feature the universal fit Open-Lok anchor for quick blade changes.

• Triangle Sanding Pad: Utilizes a dense foam backer for flexibility and durability to sand in hard to reach places.
• Rigid & Flexible Scrapers: Constructed of solid stainless steel for versatile and quick removal of paints, adhesives, and sealants.
• Multi-Cutter Scraper: Constructed of solid stainless steel with three different cutting edges for cutting through carpet, roofing paper, asphalt roofing, shingles, and cardboard.
• Sealant Cutting Blades: Equipped with a wide or tapered edge for easy sealant removal in expansion joints and a Mushroom sealant scraper is complete with a flexible mushroom sharp for delicate sealant removal around glass.
• Hybrid Carbide Grit Boot Blade: Incorporate a 2-in-1 shape for fast grout and mortar removal. 
• Diamond Grit Boot Blade: Constructed with a more durable diamond grip for fast grout removal and up to 5x longer life than standard carbide grit blades. 
• 5-in-1 Drywall Blade: Precision laser-cut to deliver 5-in-1 functionality for all drywall cutting needs.

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We got a chance to try out the new Starlock Oscillating Multi-tool System. The Bosch GOP40-30 oscillating multi-tool featured the new accessory system at the 2015 STAFDA trade show in Phoenix. The new Starlock mounting system is being developed jointly by both Fein and Bosch as a new standard for oscillating multi-tools. Bosch is particularly motivated to get the new system to take off. They want the Starlock system as prevalent in the oscillating multi-tool market as their SDS system is for rotary hammers. The Starlock OMT accessory system arrived in January 2016. It seems to have succeeded in setting yet another new standard in the industry.

Fein Starlock Oscillating Multi-tool System Features

The Fein Starlock oscillating multi-tool system is a brand new design. It features a raised portion of the accessory that interlocks with the tool in three dimensions. That differs from the OIS accessory system that presses blades and such between a fastening washer and the tool. With the Starlock mounting system, Bosch, Fein, and other tools using the system get to grasp the accessory. Accessories feature a 3D configuration in the form of a quasi 12-sided dodecagram (a 12-pointed star). Protruding upward from the surface of the accessory, it looks like an oversized bottle cap.

The accessory literally snaps into the tool—there are no levers or fastening systems to prep or activate. It’s not just tool-less, you literally don’t have to touch a lever or insert a pin to load an accessory. You just place the tool over the accessory at whatever angle you want and press down. It automatically grasps the Starlock blade or accessory and locks it into place. A lever on the Bosch Starlock tool releases the accessory or blade without forcing you to touch it. That’s good if you’ve just cut through enough wood or metal to heat up the blade to 160+ degrees. Starlock tools and other compatible tools will work in the same way.

Using the Bosch GOP40-30 Oscillating Multi-Tool with Starlock Mounting System

There are several advantages to the new Starlock system. The most obvious is its snap-in function. Never before has changing the accessory on an oscillating multi-tool been faster or easier. The Bosch GOP40-30 oscillating multi-tool uses the Starlock mounting system with a snap-in function. It lets you change the accessory in less than 3 seconds. It also does it without requiring you to touch a potentially hot blade—which makes this a safer system as well.

The Three Flavors of the Starlock System

The Starlock mounting system will come out in three variations for reasons of backward compatibility. You have the basic Starlock system, which fits a majority of the corded or cordless oscillating multi-tools on the market (including the Bosch MX30E multi-tool or any Bosch OIS-compatible tools), the Starlock Plus which fits the Fein MultiMaster FMM 350 Q, and the Starlock Max which is being reserved for heavy-duty tools and accessories. All three are trademarked by Fein. Noticeably absent are any solutions that will work with tools requiring a slotted accessory, such as the Dremel Multi-Max, Porter-Cable PC250MTK, or DeWalt’s newest oscillating multi-tool.

Presumably, there will be a redesign of the Fein SuperCut line and accessory interface as well, preparing it for the heavy duty Starlock Max mounting system.

Final Thoughts

The Starlock oscillating multi-tool system is certainly unique (it’s also patented). But will it set the new standard in the oscillating multi-tool market? We’ll have to see. The oscillating multi-tool has gone from a fad of just a few years ago to a full-blown tool that’s indispensable for those doing trim work and anything requiring flush cutting for tile and flooring. It’s also handy in other applications like electrical work and when you need to cut a bolt (or anything else for that matter) flush to a surface.

The most telling thing about the Starlock oscillating multi-tool system is that the accessories are backward compatible with all OIS and OIS-compatible tools. The only hang-up is that new power tools from Bosch, Flex, Fein, and Festool that use the new Starlock mounting system will only work with Starlock accessories. The recessed mounting position won’t accept any of your existing OIS blades or accessories.

The unique Bosch color coding will remain the same with the new Starlock accessories as it is with the current OIS accessories:

Look for the new Bosch GOP40-30 oscillating multi-tool and the new Starlock and Starlock Plus accessories to hit the shelves around January 2016. Pricing should be very similar to existing OIS products.

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