Energo sword

Energo swords are the swords of choice for four of the five Dinobots. Only Swoop, who wields a thermal sword, does not use one. However, only Grimlock and Snarl are seen using it regularly.

G1 cartoon

Snarl is the only Dinobot shown to use his energo sword, though in the cartoon, his sword has only been used to fire some sort of energy beam.

Comics

Grimlock was not shown using his energo sword until he returned to the Ark following Optimus Prime's first death. With a single slash, he severed a hologram projector which was depicting an image of the former Autobot leader.

His first major use of it was in the battle on the Earth's moon. Against Blaster, he was unable to connect (fortunately for Blaster). However, when a Decepticon cruiser appeared, he was able to cut directly through its force field with the sword, saying, "Grimlock's energo sword cut through anything!" The resulting tear in the field allowed Blaster to hit the ship with his electro-scrambler.

Following the deactivation of the Dinobots by an Underbase-enhanced Starscream, Grimlock vented his frustration by devastating his room with his energo sword. When Waverider entered the room and tried to calm Grimlock down, the Dinobot leader threw the sword into the wall, missing Waverider's head by inches and embedding the weapon to its hilt.

After the effects of the experimental Nucleon caused Grimlock to undergo radical changes, the effects of his energo sword appeared to be magnified as well. With a single swing, Grimlock was able to slice through a creature that Snarl's energo sword could only scratch. In fairness, there are also two other possibilities:
# Grimlock's energo sword has always been more powerful than Snarl's sword.
# Grimlock's enhanced strength was responsible, not the power of the sword.

In the battle against the Cybertronians led by Jhiaxus, Grimlock made extensive use of his energo sword, given the closeness of the fighting. Here, he displayed another property of his sword (its ability to deflect incoming fire).