About Delaware Diamond Knives
Our mission is to use the extraordinary properties of diamond to provide our customers with exceptional solutions to their industrial needs
 
DDK's technical and scientific applications for diamonds and tungsten carbide are manufactured in its laboratory facility in Wilmington, Delaware.  The site is well equipped with the latest technology for creating precision edges on diamond, tungsten carbide, sapphire knives, tools and parts.  

DDK's diverse product line includes applications in bone research, microsurgery, heat sinks, transmission electron microscopy, neuroscience, wafer breaks / scribes, and high precision tooling. Most of the company's clients are in the United States, Germany, Japan and Switzerland.
 
Customer Service
The Delaware Diamond Knives organizational culture has been built with customer satisfaction as the leading driver.  All aspects of customer service are important to us and we seek continuous improvement in each area based on customer feedback. We communicate regularly with our customers to ensure that we understand their needs and are providing the corresponding services.
Get the Personalized Attention You Deserve!
  • Unconditional Guarantee: if you're not satisfied, we will resolve the problem or return your money
  • 95% on-time delivery
  • Order status updates
  • A post-purchase call to ensure the product has met your needs and expectations
  • Easy access to an informed and friendly person with answers to your questions or a rapid call-back when the answer requires research.
  • Complete integrity and honesty
  • An open invitation to visit our manufacturing facility, be it for training or to gain a better understanding of our processes
  • A network of users that can be utilized as a source of technical support
  • Going out of our way to show we care
Awards
Superstars in Business Award

The Blue Chip award was given to DDK from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The award is given to  businesses that have overcome some form of adversity.

Joseph Tabeling was named "Small Business Person of the Year" for the state of Delaware by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The Delaware State Chamber of Commerce named Delaware Diamond Knives as one of five small businesses to receive the Marvin S. Gilman Superstars in Business Award.  The award reflects DDK's excellence in Operations, Customer Service and Product Quality.
Memberships
  • DE State Chamber of Commerce
  • Microscopy Society of America
  • National Society of Histotechnology
  • International Microelectronics and Packaging Society
  • American Precision Engineering Society
  • Semiconductor Equipment & Materials Int'l
In addition, Joseph Tabeling serves on the boards of the DE Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Industrial Diamond Association.
The History of DDK
1986 - DDK was formed in March of 1986 when Ray Tabeling, father of current President Joe Tabeling, purchased the knife business from the E.I. DuPont Company. For the previous 20 years, Ray had been responsible for DuPont's diamond knife business which was originally formed in the 1960's as an outgrowth of a program to develop single point diamond lathe turning tools for the Atomic Energy Commission. 

Electron Microscopy Expertise - The diamond knife is used as a sample preparation tool in Electron Microscopy. The edge of a diamond knife needs to be so perfect that it can slice specimens as thin as 0.05 microns without artifacts when viewed under magnification as high as 100,000 X. Proprietary diamond grinding and lapping techniques were brought over from DuPont and further upgraded over the years.

1988 - The company moved to its current facility at 3825 Lancaster Pike, Wilmington, DE. This two-story facility is owned by the Tabeling family and is large enough to support the manufacturing operation downstairs and the customer service and business operation in the upstairs portion of the building.

Unable to find outside vendors capable of laser sawing and cleaving of diamonds, the company developed its in-house skills for these operations.

1990 - DDK diversified its product line when the company was asked by customers to resharpen large blades make from tungsten carbide used in bone microscopy. The company is now the world leader in tungsten carbide resharpening services. About this time, DDK also developed a sapphire knife for sectioning fresh brain tissue in a vibrating microtome.

Light Microscopy Expertise - Tungsten carbide knives are used in sample preparation of bone and hard material, creating sections thin enough for visible light to be transmitted, usually 1-5 microns thick. DDK sells new tungsten carbide knives in different varieties for various applications and resharpens tungsten carbide knives made by any manufacturer. The sapphire knife is the tool of choice for vibrating microtome sectioning today.

1991 - DDK became a large supplier of diamond scalpel blades, primarily used in eye surgery. These blades require particularly strong craftsmanship as they are formed in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Diamond Scalpel Expertise - In the ophthalmic market, DDK became experts at custom designs and quick turnaround. Our customers are instrument manufacturers selling to surgeons who needed the tools for scheduled patient surgeries. Our willingness to create special designs and prototypes with quick turnaround has been beneficial for development of some of our newer businesses.

1995 -  Joe Tabeling bought the company from his father, Ray, who decided to retire.

1996 - DDK earned its first fiber optic customer by partnering with a major connector manufacturer in a development project for a new diamond cleaver blade. DDK designed the blade, developed the performance of the blade for the fiber cleaving application and manufactured the diamond part while assembling the remainder of the tool.

Fiber Optic Cleaving Expertise - DDK is the leading provider of diamond cleaver parts for the fiber optic industry worldwide. We have developed and patented entire cleaving tools for partners within the industry as well as provided diamond subassemblies for customers with their own cleaver designs. We have become an outstanding development partner known for our integrity, service, and contributions to prototypes early in the development stage.

1997 - DDK entered the diamond film market with the purchase of two reactors from Astex. DDK sees diamond films as a logical extension to its natural diamond expertise. DDK makes films for thermal management, tooling, microwave and optical applications.

CVD Diamond Film Expertise - DDK has developed a strong understanding of CVD diamond film synthesis, parts fabrication and post-processing. Many customers come to us with their development programs and custom projects. 

1998 - DDK was asked by a potential customer to develop a custom diamond tool for the processing of gallium arsenide wafers in semiconductor manufacturing.

Diamond Tools for Semiconductor Expertise - DDK has successfully mastered this tool and has developed a line of nine different diamond tools for processing wafers of III/V materials, silicon and sapphire. Again, many customers come to DDK with their ideas for prototype tools, taking advantage of our quick turnaround times on custom projects.

Delaware Diamond Knives
3825 Lancaster Pike
Wilmington, DE 19805
 
toll free -
 
800-222-5143
  
 
local -
 
302-999-7476
  
 
fax -
 
302-999-8320
  
 
email -