"Art" wrote:

I believe my mason said that the good blades are $300. There are crappy
ones that are worthless for about $100.

And there are good $30 dry-cut diamond blades that will go in a 7 1/4
skil-saw & might last a lifetime for a homeowner.

Except for the dust these will work fine for brick or tile & are
workable with block & stone. [I minimize the dust by duct-taping my
shop vac to the saw]

As a data point I have used a single blade to cut a dozen or so 8x12
solid blocks-- turning them over & cutting both sides 2.5 inches deep
before splitting them; 10 more of the 3" cap blocks, cutting 1.5
inches deep on both sides; maybe 2-300 pavers; 50' of 2" concrete to
install a drain in my basement. . . and it is showing no signs of
wear whatsoever.

Jim