...whilst you may well be right in suggesting that the move from grinders to reciprocating saws (for the sort of tasks being discussed) in the construction industry has probably been largely the consequence of "H&S" considerations, I don't think that "H&S considerations" are behind what I have been hearing and reading.
Recip saws have been used in construction since at least the 1930s and I have UK publications showing them readily available to the trade in the UK in the 1950s.
Modern demolition blades evolved from/into (depending on who you talk to) F&R (fire and rescue) blades in the USA. AFAIK they started to become widely available here in the early to mid-1990s.
Over the last couple of decades developments in blade technology has seen the introduction of carbide tooth blades, I believe first for blockwork (I first came across them 20+ years back), later for metals and demo work. Diamond is a more recent introduction. So my contention is that the more widespread use of recip saws and specialised blades has trickled down into the DIY field from trade.
In the construction and industrial fields risk reduction has been a partial driver to the greater adoption of recip saws with specialised blades over abrasive cutting, even though a 9in angle grinder or a Stihl saw with a metal blade is actually far quicker than a recip saw, whilst a small 4-1/2in grinder is often no faster than a recip saw and can be slower - but that all depends on tooling (ever tried using a diamond wheel on an angle grinder, or using a carbide bladed cordless metal cutting saw? I feel both would open your eyes)
All of the suggestions (that recip saws are preferable) I have seen were directed at "DIYers", and all majored on the saws being an easier/nicer/quicker/less messy method, without any mention of safety advantages, and certainly no mention of fire risks with grinders.
Then that probably suggests pure ignorance on the part of the authors and maybe they
should have mentioned these things because fires and grinding wheels breaking and causing injury aren't unique to building sites
... if my upcoming job entails making, say, a dozen or less cuts in CI soil pipes, would an appreciably cheaper) non-carbide blade be likely to last long enough for that?
Yes, with the caveat that not all blades are equal.
@^woody^ mentioned Lennox blades which have a good reputation, I mentioned Milwaukee Ax. I can say from experience that the Ax blades are generally thicker and more durable than equivalent Bosch blades I have used, although I am yetvto.use their carbide blades. DW demo blades are OK, but not as durable as the Ax blades in my experience
). One removed the chuck (which had a male 3/8" end in those days) and then bolted the blade into the female threaded hole thereby exposed. Whatever else might have gone wrong, there was no way that the blade was going to become 'detached', or even loose.