Industrial use of diamonds has historically been associated with their hardness; this property makes diamond the ideal material for cutting and grinding tools. As the hardest known naturally occurring material, diamond can be used to polish, cut, or wear away any material, including other diamonds. Common industrial adaptations of this ability include diamond-tipped drill bits and saws, and the use of diamond powder as an abrasive. Less expensive industrial-grade diamonds, known as bort, with more flaws and poorer color than gems, are used for such purposes.

Diamond is not suitable for machining ferrous alloys at high speeds as carbon is soluble in iron at the high temperatures created by high-speed machining, leading to greatly increased wear on diamond tools when compared to alternatives.

These substances can scratch diamond: Some diamonds are harder than others. Nanocrystalline diamond aggregates produced by high-pressure high-temperature treatment of graphite or fullerite (C60). Borazon - a boron nitride allotrope Boron nitride Hexagonal form of diamond called lonsdaleite, is theoretically predicted to be 58% stronger than diamond.[13] Rhenium diboride

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