Best Blade For Cutting Glass Tiles You Need to Know 2021

Do you know what is one of the major things that new homeowners (or old homeowners who are looking to renovate) complain about regarding their bathrooms? Often, during installation, the backsplashes and bathrooms tend to be damaged.

So what would you guess was the fix for this? Glass tiles! So installing glass tiles may be what you are redirected to, too. However, doing so can be a little bit of scut work. Hence, before you jump right in, you need to know the right combination of techniques of both choosing and using the best blades for cutting glass tiles.

Product Reviews on the Best Blade for Cutting Glass Tiles

Here are the reviews on them:

A premium construction featuring metal bond blade form glass, this tile blade by MK diamonds is a simplistic stunner in its true form.

If you are someone looking for wet tile saws that could be used on production applications instead of just at-home styling with trendy glass, you can switch to a premium choice that it has to offer. Compared to another popular saw, SkilSaw , it has more diamond area and is much thinner (7 inches against 7 ¼ inches).

Unique Feature

Smooth Edges: The premium bond blade gives you a smooth cut on the glass tiles. So need not worry about uneven edges depending upon your handling and usage.

Chip-free cutting: It is really easy to chip glasses when cutting along the middle. This blade saves you from such woes with its diamond chi mix.

Multipurpose use: You can not only use it to cut glass tiles but also for glass blocks and fused glasses.

The Good
  • Excellent item for glass artists and craftsmen.
  • Cuts nicely and minimizes chips.
  • Can be used to cut bottles for regular use.
  • Works great with porcelain tiles.
The not so good
  • Needs adjustment with the measurements on wet tile saws.

If you will not be using something as professional and premium as the MK diamond 156651, but want something okay for a beginner to start with and comes at a more reasonable price, you can always opt for the QEP 6700.

Featuring a continuous rim, this diamond blade has been built to cut glasses and help you keep your bathroom and backsplash on trend with the contemporary, radiant look. You can get not only minimal chipping from it but also maximum clean cuts. But what else makes it so likable?

Unique Feature

Versatile: You can use the diamond blade to cut not just glass tiles but also ceramic, porcelain, mosaic, and other flooring products.

Easy cuts: Since this is very easy to operate with wet saws, you will not have a hard time working with it. However, compared to Delta blades, it cuts slower on ceramic and porcelain, although not on the glass.

Straightness: If you want to make cuts on large tiles and are unsure it will be uneven, this blade saves you with a straight cut from the get-go.

The Good
  • Clean and easy cutting.
  • Great for narrow edge cutting.
  • Perfect solution for corner notches.
  • Cuts effortlessly and fast on glass tiles.
The not so good
  • The vibration may be high to handle for some.

The last one on the list for the best diamond blades for cutting glass tile is also from QEP! This continuous rim tile saw blade has only one purpose in life, and that is accurate cutting. But does it deliver as well as it claims? In thickness, this is as good as the MK Diamond ones.

However, in order to fit this QEP into a MK 7-inch tile saw, you will need a spacer in the blade. If you’re trying this for the first time and don’t want to go all out on a blade, this is going to be your best bet.

Unique Features

Value blade: It performs really well for its price and can be used to do a lot of cuts before the first sharpness wears out, after which you have to sharpen again.

Budget-friendly: A pack of 2 blades will give you more than 200 cuts before wearing out, which is more than one diamond blade from high-end brands.

Clean cuts: Gives you smooth and linear cuts on the glass tiles with the least chipping.

The Good
  • Works perfectly fine on glass tiles.
  • Can be used on small porcelain tiles.
  • Can outlast expensive blades with a twin pack.
The not so good
  • Could be faster in tile cutting.

Choosing the Right Blade

There are different kinds of tile saw blades, and each works in its own obvious way. So before you choose a glass tile cutter, you need to know the following:

Wet Saw

If you are planning to renovate or work in the shower area, going for wet tile saws would be the best idea. These are great for large tiling areas that have glass bath tiles, and they are great for creating harmonies as they give you straight cuts! And if you are someone who is really unsure of this cutting thing and you’re worried that you won’t get the edges right, you will with wet saws because they are effective and easier to work with on these aspects than other saws.

So for smooth cuts and the least damage done to the tiles, go for wet saws.

Wheeled Mosaic Nippers

These are the perfect blades for cutting glass mosaic tiles. When the pieces of glass are shaped unevenly, and you want to create something artistic with it, you usually get these wheeled mosaic nippers.

Bar Cutter

The kinds of tools can give you both manual glass scoring and cut the tiles (although some may be used for only scoring). You will find a pressure foot on them that you can use to snap the tile along the line where you scored. These are inexpensive too, so you won’t be spending much money here! However, if you want to cut in certain angles and want a bar cutter that helps with the same, you can take expensive versions of it.

Manual Scoring Wheel

Way before these wet tiles and other things came up, professional tile setters used to shoot their shots with manual scoring wheels instead of glass blade saws. You would see it used mostly in cutting mosaic tiles or creating colored glasses. But do you know what was the biggest downfall it had? It took a lot of time! Even when used with a lot of patience, beginners may get uneven edges and broken glass with it. So if you plan to use the modern version of it, you can use it to cut small tiles.

Cutting Glass Tile

Since the blades mentioned in our reviews are circular blades, the following steps on how to cut glass tiles will feature those kinds only:

Necessary Materials

You will need the following:

  1. Wet Saw: For this, you have to shell out anywhere between a hundred to a thousand dollars. But if you think you don’t want to pay a large sum, you can rent them for a day or two of use.
  2. A washable marker to wipe off marks from guides on the glass surface.
  3. Rubber gloves to save yourself from cuts and injuries. A leather glove will be easily saturated with the water in use. The same goes for fabric gloves.
  4. A piece of cloth

Steps to Take

  1. Measure the tile that you want to cut and make marks on it using a non-permanent marker of the specifications. After you are done with the cutting, these marks can be washed off or wiped with a damp piece of cloth.
  2. Now turn on your wet saw and start cutting the piece of glass. You’ll have to keep the water from the blade running before you dig right in.
  3. Align your cutting marks with the tile. With a slow and steady pressure, start cutting. The general advice is to cut the piece upside down, as it helps you to cut the back coating before the actual glass. By this, even if your front side of the glass becomes rough, you can sand it. If you have a solid color glass, you don’t need to check for this.
  4. Also, remember, you will need to cut from either the beginning of the end, not the middle.
  5. When you are done, you shouldn’t simply power down the saw. Instead, try pushing the tile through the blades of the saw and then draw it back before you turn off or power down the saw. This will not only create less chipping but also prevent further from happening.
  6. In the end, dust off the traces of marker and glass chips off the surface, and you’re done! If you had used porcelain tile saw blades, things wouldn’t have been so smooth. But with our handpicked diamond blades, things take a much smoother, decent turn!

The Reason Why Cutting Glass Tiles Is More Difficult

Although they have cut tiles in many ways, whether it is cutting ceramic tiles or regular porcelain tiles, artisans will tell you that their hardest experience is with glass tiles. One of the main reasons why cutting this is difficult is because it damages so easily. The moment you are not consistent or alert, it can break in your hand. Secondly, it is easier to have uneven cuts in glass edges than any other form of tiles. And lastly, since they are see-through, you can see the jagged cuts on the coating and other imperfections pretty easily.

Cutting Glass Tile: Wet tile saws vs Masonry saws

Both masonry saws and wet tile saws are good options when you are cutting tile. Usually, masonry saws are more expensive and a little less available than wet tile saws. On the other hand, tile saws are lighter and smaller. But there is a difference between them than just the price, size, and availability. It is the stationary table that each of them has.

For masonry saws, you need to push the blade through the tile, whereas tile saws have a slider with their stationary table, which can be used in sliding and cutting the tile.

Sharpening a Tile Saw Blade

Only brand new diamond blades come with a ready-to-cut edge. So if you have an old blade that you need to use, you need to sharpen it. For that, you need a special kind of white, fine-grained abrasive stone. This works better than knife-sharpening stones.

However, you should be careful not to use concrete blocks of your balcony or bathroom to sharpen it if you do not use any of the two kinds of stones previously mentioned. This is going to damage your blade, reduce the speed of the cut and the vibrations you would have gotten.

FAQs:

What kind of blade should be used to cut porcelain tile, ceramic tile, or glass tile?

Since all the three materials have different densities and hardnesses, the resistances offered by them to the cutting blade are different too. This should be taken into account when choosing the blade. Porcelain tile blades and ceramic cutting blades are made for specific purposes, while diamond blades can be used for glass tiles.

What is considered the best tool for cutting glass tile?

A wet tile saw, or masonry saw, is the best tool for cutting glass tile. The worst thing you can do is use a manual tile cutter.

Can I cut glass using a tile cutter?

Yes. In order to cut it using a bar cutter, you have to use the scoring handle first and then snap the score using pliers manually.

What kind of blade should I use to cut glass tile?

It actually depends on what kind of service you want from the blade. Manual scoring is good for small tiles; again, wet tile saws are great for just about anything.

Will the tile cutter cut glass tiles?

It will cut the glass tiles. However, it won’t be as good as cutting glass tiles with wet saws.

How am I supposed to smooth the edges of glass tiles?

By sanding or filing down the edges.

Final Words

So you have got to learn about the best blades for cutting glass! If we had to name one, we’d pick the MK diamond 156651, which works for both professionals and beginners.

A glamorous option to have, these backsplashes glass tiles have been enjoying the limelight recently. Easy to clean and glassy in appearance, these can amp up your bathroom and accentuate how it looks. So make that purchase!

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