Diablo Cutting Tools Worth a Look: Spade Bit, Cermet Blade, and a Wood-and-Metal Combination Blade

Introduction

Diablo showed off a batch of new cutting accessories at the World of Concrete show, and three of them stood out because each solves a very specific jobsite frustration. There is a spade bit that keeps cutting even when it hits framing nails, a cermet-tipped saw blade for cutting steel cleanly, and a combination blade that switches between wood and metal without a blade change.

Diablo Demon Spade Bit: Cutting Through Nails

Anyone who has drilled into old framing knows the failure mode of a standard spade bit: one encounter with a nail and the bit is usually done. The Diablo Demon Spade Bit is designed as the answer to exactly that problem. In a head-to-head demonstration against a competitor’s one-inch spade bit, the competitor bit stalled on nail-embedded lumber, while the Diablo bit kept going.

The enhanced technology lets it cut cleanly through wood, but also through lumber loaded with nails. Diablo claims the bit can cut through up to 60 nails, though that figure depends on how the nails are hit. It also handles drywall screws, though those are much softer than framing nails, so you should not expect 60 screws to match the 60-nail claim.

The cut quality is a real highlight here. After cutting through ring-shank framing nails and returning to clean wood, the hole edges showed essentially no burrs, which means you can keep working instead of reaching for a fresh bit.

Diablo Steel Demon Cermet Saw Blade

This is the blade with the distinctive look, and it is built specifically for cutting metal on a saw rather than a grinder. Cutting steel with a grinder throws sparks across the jobsite, which is never a great situation. This blade cuts slowly and smoothly with a controlled feed, and the finish on the cut is noticeably clean.

The lineup includes a five-and-seven-eighths blade size that also fits five-and-three-eighths and five-and-a-half saws, suited for cutting thin stainless steel, threaded rod, and similar materials. The newer six-and-a-half-inch version is a 60-tooth blade for super thin metals, following the earlier 48-tooth cermet blade from two years ago. The 60-tooth version is aimed at work like cutting corrugated steel decking used under elevated concrete decks, steel studs whether nested or single, and thinner material like stainless steel where you want a smooth head and more teeth in the material.

Heat management is the key differentiator. Tungsten carbide teeth typically start to break down around 300 to 400 degrees, while cermet holds up to roughly 800 or 900 degrees. That heat resistance keeps the edge sharp and cutting longer, and it heats the material less. Feed technique matters: go too slow and you overheat the metal, go too fast and you introduce vibration and risk binding. A consistent, low-vibration feed is the goal, and discoloration tends to appear mainly in thicker metals.

The Diablo Wood-and-Metal Combination Saw Blade

On a busy jobsite with a single available circuit, everyone fights over the same saw, and switching blades to cut metal is a real time cost. This combination blade addresses that: one blade cuts both wood and metal. Available in six-and-a-half and seven-and-a-quarter sizes, it covers common circular saw formats.

The trade-off is worth understanding. It will not cut wood as long as Diablo’s framing-focused blades, and it will not cut as much metal as the dedicated Steel Demon blades. But as a convenience solution, it is genuinely useful, and the cut quality in wood is excellent, producing a carpenter-grade finished edge that goes through wood like butter.

Buying Advice for Diablo Cutting Accessories

Each of these three products fits a different workflow. If you frequently drill into older framing, the Demon Spade Bit removes the nail-kill problem entirely, and the 60-nail endurance claim makes it a practical investment for demo and renovation work.

For anyone cutting steel regularly, the Steel Demon Cermet blades justify themselves through cut finish and blade life, thanks to cermet’s much higher heat tolerance compared to tungsten carbide. They are especially compelling for thin metals, threaded rod, and ornamental work where a smooth cut matters. Just remember that feed rate discipline is the difference between a cool, clean cut and a scorched one.

The combination blade is the pragmatic pick: it is not the specialist leader in either material, but for punch-out work or jobsites where blade swapping is impractical, having one blade that handles both wood and metal is hard to argue with.

Conclusion

Diablo’s newest cutting accessories all target a familiar jobsite pain point rather than chasing raw spec numbers. The Demon Spade Bit survives nails, the Steel Demon Cermet blades cut steel smoothly with superior heat resistance, and the wood-and-metal combination blade keeps you working when you cannot stop to change blades. Choose based on which of those problems you actually have, and any of the three should pay for itself quickly.