Early Entry & Green Concrete Diamond Blades

Early entry means sawing green concrete within roughly the first one to six hours after finishing, as soon as the slab will support the saw and before shrinkage cracking starts. Cutting this early is what controls random cracking, which is the whole point. Wait too long and you lose the window; go too early and the slab ravels at the joint.

Our Early Bird® early entry blades are color coded by bond, and you pick by aggregate hardness. Purple Series is our general choice for hard aggregate, Red Series suits medium aggregate, and White Series is for the softest and most abrasive mixes. If you do not know your aggregate, tell us the ready-mix supplier and region and we can usually narrow it down.

Yes. The skid plate holds the slab down alongside the blade so the concrete does not spall as you cut, and it is not optional on green concrete. Size the plate to the blade: we carry 5", 5.5", 6", 6" and 8", and 14" plates, in tab or pin mount, including stainless steel. Replace a plate once the underside is worn thin.

We stock early entry blades from 6.5" up to 13.5" in .094", .100" and .125" thickness. Early entry saws cut shallow by design, typically 1" to 1-3/4" deep, which is enough to control cracking on a normal slab. Match the blade diameter to your saw's spindle and guard.

Our blades and skid plates are made to fit the common early entry saws used on commercial slab work. Because plate mounting differs between machines, confirm your saw model with us and we will send the matching blade and plate combination.