Wasted $150 on those fancy grout removal blades for my kitchen tile

I was retiling my kitchen backsplash last month and saw these diamond coated grout removal blades online. Paid $150 for a set of three different sizes. First one snapped after 10 minutes, second one wore down halfway through one line of grout. Ended up using a simple $12 carbide scraper I had in my truck from pressure washing jobs. Took longer but actually worked. Has anyone else had better luck with those expensive blades in Albuquerque's hard water areas?

2 comments

2 Comments

lucas_grant8328d ago

Hard water areas (like Albuquerque) actually make diamond blades wear faster since the minerals in the water turn into a gritty paste that eats away the bonding material. That $12 carbide scraper is probably the better bet for our water chemistry here.

lee_butler28d ago

I saw a tile contractor out of Phoenix mention something similar. He said the local water turned his diamond blades into dull rocks in about half the normal time. Lucas_grant83 is probably right about that gritty paste thing, I've heard the same from guys who work with concrete out there. That cheap carbide scraper might hold up better in the long run.