A Guide to Oscillating Multi Tools and the best Blades

September 26, 2017

If I had a pound for every time I’ve heard a tradesman say ‘I couldn’t be without my multi tool’, I’d be a very rich man! Oscillating multi tools are fast becoming one of the most popular power tools on the construction site, due to the wide range of applications they can be used to tackle. For years, Fein have dominated the multi tool market, with premium quality tools and some say the best multi tool blades, but since their patent ran out at the end of 2008, more and more machines and accessories have arrived in the market place. ​

There is now a significant choice of multi tool machines for both cordless and corded. When it comes to cordless, it’s fair to say the obvious choice would be to continue with the theme of your chosen cordless family of power tools. Body only units are fairly inexpensive and you can utilise the batteries you already own.

For corded units, you can be a little more flexible with your choice across the various brands. Fein have traditionally led the way in terms of performance and reliability, with the MultiMaster, but the recent launch of their Starlock blade system has been a very brave move. Starlock, a joint venture between Fein and Bosch, is a patented blade mounting system that provides a very fast ‘snap-in’ blade fitting. The downside to Starlock is the multi tool machines can only be used with Fein or Bosch branded accessories. This has put some potential users off, as you are tied into their system – Starlock blades may not always be the best value or readily available from multiple trade outlets. If you don’t want to be tied into the Starlock system, brands other than Fein and Bosch predominantly take the same universal fitting blade, and often have quick blade change too, so take your pick!

When it comes to the universal multi tool blades; with so many options available, one of the biggest issues for users is separating the wheat from the chaff. It’s important that the blades are of a decent quality, as the machine is only as good as the blade attached. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be investing in the most expensive blades available – we’ve heard many a grumble from customers about the high cost multi tool accessories! At the end of 2015, we embarked on finding the best value multi tool blade that performed to a high standard and lasted. It’s fair to say that the road has been bumpy in stages, but with the latest Maxitek V3 titanium coated blades – we’ve finally cracked it. Maxitek was created specifically for trade professionals and industrial users, and the V3 multi tool blades certainly sit nicely in their range.

The latest Maxitek V3 Multi Tool Blades offer:

• Very high performance levels in terms of performance and durability.
• Extremely durable titanium coated bi-metal teeth for long life.
• Enlarged welding points for maximum strength and unprecedented resilience.Universal blade fitting
• compatible with most brands of multi tool.

The Maxitek range currently features the four most popular selling professional multi tool blades, with two sizes of wood cutting – 35mm and the wider 68mm and two sizes of universal metal and wood cutting – 29mm and the wider 44mm. Since the launch of V3, which is short for ‘version 3’ as the performance levels have improved and evolved with the introduction of each new version, feedback from professional users has been excellent. We decided to carry out direct comparison tests versus the market leader, which highlighted just how good the new blades really are.

Watch the results of the tests below, which addresses the cutting performance and durability. The destruction test is definitely worth watching, where the blades are put through a process of extreme abuse in an attempt to make the welds fail.

Don’t just take our word for it find out yourself! Click here to see our range of the best multi tool blades.