Rory, I wouldnt calll it a better cut, they can cut just as well as dimond, but this is only if they are sharp. For your first lathe i would recomend getting a carbide. If well maintained they cut very well, i have had my lathe for about 3-4 months and i cut quite often and i it has not needed to be sharpened. Dimonds are more fargile and i would only recoment it to a more expericend racer. Just make sure you practice on an old crap arm. Chances are you will stuff a cut up when you are new to cutting, so its better to do it on somthings thats not worth anything as opposed to a race motor.