Case by case basis. Walls, I wouldn't touch, floors, commercial restaurants are messy, night work. Make sure there's extra tile if you slip and factor into cost. We have doubled segmented blades together with proper dust containment system for efficient removal on 1/4" floor joints to stop tenting of slate in a library for expansion joints 10' box.
My only aversion to hand tools is the inability to control them well. When they hit denser areas they tend to skip or shift in the joint causing the force you have applied to be directed at the tile and not grout.
Thin joint wall tiles, I use a spade bit pulled along the grout joint. The "v" shape prevents chipping the tile. Once you have cut that first groove , you can switch to other methods.
Floor tile I use a grinder first then pick whatever fits the joint best.
Tedious work, though. I usually pass bigger jobs to Mr. Grout type companies.
I like to see the blade as I cut. I have the vac line behind the blade. But that's for areas that I can close off from dust.
You can do the same thing with your battery saw. It runs slower than a grinder. Back in the day we used 9 volt saws with a 3" ceramic blade. But the battery would wear out so fast that you needed at least 2 batteries charging while you used the other one. So grinders became the go to tool for the shop.
Ended up using a handheld grout grabber. Kept spraying water on it to control the dust. The house if unfinished.
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