12" & 14" New-Old-Stock American made Diamond Blades 4 Sale

[QuailRiver]

Hello Everyone,

I have a couple of NOS (New-Old-Stock) Diamond Blades for sale. Neither have ever been used and both are American made notched-rim diamond lapidary blades of better quality than the comparable Asian notched-rim blades on today's market. Also both are still with their original factory boxes.

The first blade is a 14" Lortone Panther Premium diamond blade. I believe this blade is a MK301 blade that was manufactured for Lortone back in the 1990s when Star Diamond Industries owned MK. It was heat stamped in the metal with the model number "C301S" and the production code "595835". The arbor hole has a 5/8" removable bushing within a 3/4" removable bushing, mounted inside a 1" arbor hole. So this blade can be mounted on any three of those sized arbors. The price is $125 plus $18 for shipping within the U.S. Continental forty-eight states.

The second blade is a 12" Star Diamond Industries' Meteor blade which was manufactured in the 1980s for MLS (Minnesota Lapidary Supply). This blade was heat stamped on the back with "S/D METEOR". It has a 5/8" bushing inside a 3/4" arbor hole so it will fit either sized arbor. The price is $80 plus $15 for shipping within the U.S. Continental forty-eight states.

Photos of multiple views of both blades are posted on my flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/quailriver/ . If you would like a blade reserved for you please post which one here on this forum so others will know which is already spoken for, and please email me of your intentions to purchase at [e-mail] . I will send you a Pay Pal Invoice for the total including shipping. Thank you for looking!

Larry C.

[catmandewe]

Thats a good deal!

Tony

[johnjsgems]

Star Diamond went broke in '98 and was bought out by MK. The owner of MK had his son take over the Star Diamond factory under the Barranca Diamond name. About 8 years later they merged into MK as the lapidary division. Very interesting history on the MK web site I think. I believe it said MK sold the blade manufacturing to Star Diamond originally. Star Diamond (and after '98 BD) supplied Lortone and most other companies with notched rim blades. When I ordered they couldn't ship same day because the blades were not painted until ordered. Lortone could have blue, etc. paint applied. I once bought 50 6" 297 blades that Lortone returned because the paint was peeling. Bought cheap/sold cheap and wish I could get more. I had them on the table at shows with a small American flag. I don't remember if Meteor was the 301 or 297 but blades looked the same with 301 having a little higher diamond concentration. Typical hobbyist wouldn't be able to tell the difference. They were good blades and when the blade furnace was there they could be retempered and restored when dished. I bought all the remaining large blades they had left and like a fool sold them all at half price the first year we sold at Buena Vista. They come across a blade or two from somewhere once in a while. We sold a few at Denver they uncovered somewhere. Anyway, great blades, American made and a good price.

[Tom]

John I will take the 12 we need to talk Canada shipping but done deal

Tom

[Tom]

Oops I mean Larry, sorry about that

[QuailRiver]

Okay Tom the 12" blade is yours. Just send me your email address and your shipping address to [e-mail] and I will get you a shipping quote tomorrow afternoon and send you a Pay Pal invoice with shipping to Canada.
Larry C.

[QuailRiver]

In response to John:
Yeah the history of the diamond lapidary saw blade manufacturers reads almost like a soap opera script from where they've changed hands so many times! And there have been other small and short-lived diamond blade manufacturers that aren't mentioned in the history page on MK's site. I'm a bit of a history buff so anytime I run across old unused out-of-production blades I have a bad habit of buying them even if I don't need them. The craftsmanship on some of those old blades from 30-40 years ago was just so awesome compared to today. I have an old 1960s CONGO 12" blade mint in the box that shames the manufacturing of today. Not only is the workmanship and temper of the blade superior, but even the logo graphics are just too cool! I'll probably never be able to bring myself to use it and ruin the graphics. I know that's a little sic but can't help it.

Those 297 Criterion blades were very good blades! I used one on a 6" trim saw for many years. I hope you kept a few of those for yourself!

I hope somehow manufacturing returns to the U.S. soon, before all of the people here who know how to make quality products are passed on. In manufacturing it only takes skipping one generation and a century of compiled experience and knowledge is lost. Some things just can't be taught in a class room!
Larry C.

[johnjsgems]

Larry, when I first became a BD dealer I was able to tour the BD (former Star Diamond) plant. The blade making process was something like 27 steps and involved 4 American workers. The final touch was the old guy with a ball peen hammer that by ear finished the blade. He had been with Star Diamond for many years. The blade furnace was the original from the 40's (I think) and as it was electric it practically spun the meter off the wall. They were losing money on the cheap blade repairs so only could do them along with blade runs. That led to many complaints from people waiting for blade repairs. With the low priced LZM Chinese blades, Korean, and Indian blades it was the death blow when the property owner wanted to triple their lease. They tried to sell the furnace and ended up giving it to some company in Mexico (not for blades) just to get it hauled away. They moved the BD operations to the MK Diamond facility which was basically across the freeway in Torrance. Unless someone comes up with a cheaper process I doubt you will ever see blades made in the USA again except for electroplated blades like the Pro Slicer and the IJS copy. The Congo was made by Highland Park. I would hang that blade on my wall as art if I had one. I've only come across used ones myself.

[dacqart]

Hi I would like the 14” please.

[dacqart]

Mar 6, 2024 14:07:50 GMT -5 dacqart said:

Hi I would like the 14” please.

hi Larry I’m new to this forum. I’m in Florida and desperately searching for a Mk 301. Sounds like you have an equivalent available. Thank you.

[parfive]

Welcome to RTH., dacqart .

Unfortunately, you’ve dug up a post from 2013, IYKWIMAITYD.     : )


Keep an eye for new listings or start a thread in this section, Looking to buy . . .

[QuailRiver]

Mar 6, 2024 14:07:50 GMT -5 dacqart said:

Hi I would like the 14” please.

Hello dacqart. Welcome to the forum. As Parfive pointed out, that post is an old post (from 2013) and those blades are no longer available. You may want to check with Johnson Brothers Lapidary. Last year I purchased one of their 18" "301 Compatible" blades from them and it did appear to be manufactured by the same S. Korean plant as the MK-301 was but I haven't used it yet so am not sure if it will perform the same. Prior to typing this post I checked JBL's web store and either their page is malfunctioning of they do not have those blades available right now. It wouldn't hurt to call them and check.
www.johnsonbrotherslapidary.com/301_Compatible.html
Good Luck!

[dacqart]

Yeah. I saw that it was old after I reached out. Sorry.
Thank you. I found an MK 303. So I ordered it.
I really appreciate the info though.

D

[Fossilman]

Also MK just sold out too (Deleting their business), no more MK blades will be marketed, seems that Kingsly North bought all their stock..

[Rockoonz]

Mar 11, 2024 11:33:49 GMT -5 Fossilman said:

Also MK just sold out too (Deleting their business), no more MK blades will be marketed, seems that Kingsly North bought all their stock..

But I believe Barranca is still alive, and it is essentially the same company, like maybe MK and Barranca were 2 children of the original owner or something?
Someone told me he had recieved blade orders with both blade labels, depending on what their customers wanted.