The 10 Best Diamond Burrs
Special Honors
Profgek Professional Glass Engraving Kit Made for experienced glaziers and glass artists, this kit contains all the essentials required for glass engraving as well as additions that allow for some experimentation with 3D effects and depth and shading techniques. It boasts popular polishers, stones, and burrs, including diamond point and ball burr sets of various sizes, plus three diamond FG burrs. eternaltools.com
Editor's Notes
September 05, 2019:
When working with hard materials like glass, stone, shell, antler, bone, gemstones, rock, pottery, and very dense wood, a diamond burr possesses the strength to bore holes, engrave, carve, polish, grind, and more. Because these techniques and materials are so wide-spanning, our list includes selections of varying shapes, sizes, grits, and shank sizes. The majority are inexpensive electroplated options but our number one choice is a rugged sintered unit and the Big Horn Coarse are nickel-bonded.
You'll find choices for beginners (Goxawee Universal), home improvement (Big Horn Coarse), comprehensive kits (DerBlue Coated, Carving Expert Set), and more. We selected kits with 1/8" and 1/4" shanks for use with common rotary tools like cordless Dremels and a set that works with electric nail files for manicuring purposes (the MZCMSL Manicure Pedicure).
A problem across this category is quick wear down, and sometimes that's just unavoidable when you're manipulating certain unyielding materials or generating lots of heat, like with glass. For the most part, if you follow proper procedure, keep your work lubricated, and use the right bit for the task, a diamond burr should yield a significant amount of use before grinding down. Some of the smaller heads will naturally lose their coatings faster, as there is less covered surface area to begin with.
To piggyback off that, we want to stress that whether you're a DIY hobbyist or serious professional, always follow proper safety practices. Protect your eyes, nose, mouth, hands, and clothing, unplug power tools when changing bits, making adjustments, or not in use, and take extreme care when using your tools near a lubricant like water.