Porcelain is an excellent product for many different applications. Patios, walkways, even driveways with the right installation method. It provides numerous benefits over alternative products. Besides the installation that is more involved than alternative products, the most challenging part is cutting porcelain and making sure that the cut edges do not chip or flake. This requires the right equipment to cut along with a quality saw blade that will provide the best cutting edge.
Best Blade for Porcelain Tile
Cutting porcelain tile requires patience, a steady hand (especially when using a handheld saw), a good saw, and the right blade. All three of these are important when cutting porcelain along with proper technique. This may require some practice to become accustomed to cutting this dense material and to ensure there are no chips or flaking along the cutting edge.
There are several different saw blades on the market, but they all have two similar characteristics that are important to note. They are diamond blades that are continuous blades. Diamond blades are important because they are required to cut the dense and hard porcelain. The continuous segment is important because that makes the blade have continuous contact with the porcelain which does not chip the porcelain. Segmented blades are for cutting concrete and other materials and will chip the porcelain.
However, there are a variety of different diamond patterns on porcelain saw blades that provide a variety of cut quality in our experience with them. Some continuous saw blades are completely smooth whereas others have a variety of patterns on them. We have tried a few and have experienced different results with them on a handheld saw.
Smooth Continuous Porcelain Saw Blades
We used this type of saw blade on our 14″ Hilti gas-powered saw. It requires low power to cut with so you should not rev your saw up to its highest capacity. However, whether we were cutting at the highest or as little as we could, this blade would burn the porcelain and chip the edges significantly. In a controlled setting with water on a sliding table, we may have better results. With a handheld saw like we used, we would highly recommend to look elsewhere for a different blade.
Zig-Zag Continuous Porcelain Saw Blades
These saw blades have a smooth zig-zag pattern on the continuous blade rather than it being smooth all the way around. We used this on our 9″ battery-powered Milwaukee saw and had much better results than the smooth continuous saw blade. However, there was still some minor flaking along the edges of the cut with no major chips. There was also no burning of the porcelain as we experienced with the smooth blade. This still did not provide the results that we were hoping for.
Diamond Continuous Porcelain Saw Blades
These saw blades have a near-diamond pattern on the continuous blade rather than the previous two examples. These blades provided the best results that we experienced with no burning and almost no flaking along the edges of the porcelain especially with our cutting method for straight cuts.
You can find these blades for 4″ or 4.5″ angle grinders and 7″ blades that can be used with 9″ cut-off saws like our 9″ battery-powered Milwaukee. We prefer this saw as a handheld saw for outdoor use because of it being lightweight and easier to control rather than a larger demo saw like our 14″ Hilti. Handheld saws provide more versatility when cutting allowing you to do more difficult multi-cuts and curved cuts for some applications.
When purchasing the right saw blade, you will want to factor in the size of the allowable blade for your saw. You do not want to purchase a blade that exceeds the blade diameter that your saw will allow. In addition to that, you do not want to purchase a blade that does not meet the RPM or revolutions per minute that your saw is rated for. Failure to do so could cause the blade to break while cutting which is incredibly dangerous. Furthermore, check the arbor hole size of the blade and make sure that it matches the size of your saw.
Personal protective equipment is important to wear whenever cutting. This includes safety glasses, ear protection, and a respiratory mask especially if you plan to cut dry. Cutting wet is ideal as it will reduce the amount of airborne dust and will cool down your blade while cutting helping to improve the amount of cuts you will get out of that blade.