The Norton Clipper range certainly makes the cut for Professional Builder’s Tibby Singh.
Norton is a brand that’s been going for over 130 years and the company produces the widest range of abrasive products. It’s a portfolio that includes grinding, cutting, blending, finishing and polishing solutions for all trades, materials and applications.
In this review I’ll be digging into their Norton Clipper range, which has been leading in the building and construction industry for over 80 years, with innovation like the world’s first laser welded diamond blade.
As a carpenter/joiner I’m always going through saw blades, so I was keen to get my teeth stuck into Norton Clipper’s new saw blades which are for wood and composites, veneer and laminates, and multi materials.
I’ve recently been doing a lot of work with MDF and with it being a man-made material, it can very quickly blunt saw blades. I had the 60 teeth and 48 teeth blades but when cutting MDF it’s recommended to use the blade with 60 teeth. Generally, the higher the amount of saw blade teeth the better the quality of the cut and finish. It’s imperative that the edge of the MDF is finished to a high standard otherwise – when it’s painted – any imperfections, such as teeth marks, are enhanced and can look extremely unsightly.
I was impressed with the quality of the cut that was made with Norton Clipper’s Wood and Composite blade. The cut was so clean that it didn’t even require any sanding down afterwards, thus saving time. I would expect this with a fresh blade but even after numerous cuts it was cutting like the first cut all over again.
There was something else about the blade that felt and sounded different. After looking closely at the anatomy of the blade I realised that the gullets (space in between the teeth) have a unique shape compared to standard gullets. It’s been created to reduce vibration and noise whilst cutting.
When it comes to cutting veneers and laminates, there’s no room for error as you can’t exactly sand down the edge. With the Veneer and Laminate cutting blade, I got a crisp chip-free clean cut. This is ideal for laminated worktops because it means you can edge the worktop straight after the cut which will look like it’s been cut with a router.
Then we have the Multi-Material blade. When this blade is in, there’s no worry in the world about hitting any nails – in fact, this blade thrives on cutting through nails. Occasionally, I do some upcycling projects, which means cutting old, reclaimed timbers, and no matter how hard you try to de-nail a piece of timber there’s always one hidden somewhere. Usually that’s the one that blunts the blade but not in this case – it was like a knife through butter.
The range of Norton Clipper blades is absolutely astounding with a solution for every application, from concrete cutting blades, grinder cutting blades, reciprocating blades, jigsaw blades, sanding discs to many more. I don’t think I’ve come across any other company who provide a vast a range as Norton Clipper. Initially, it is a little overwhelming, and you don’t know where to start, but they’ve made it fairly easy to follow by breaking it down into categories by colour codes.
The cutting-edge technology makes them a pleasure to use and I’m looking forward to continuing to run through the range of products.
For further information on the extensive Norton Clipper range visit https://www.nortonabrasives.com/en-gb
Tibby Singh – www.TibbySingh.com
