Help me find a new utility knife

[Chief Sawdust Maker]

General use for me is Swan Morton brass handle clad in hockey stick tape with a 10A blade, always use genuine Swan Morton and buy in bulk

Also use a Folding Fixed Blade Utility Knife | DEWALT for general use.

Occasionally use 3 cobblers knifes which are family hand me downs which are over 100 years old different shaped blades and razor sharp

 

[Cozzer]

General use for me is Swan Morton brass handle clad in hockey stick tape with a 10A blade, always use genuine Swan Morton...

Yes, mine's like an old friend....had it, used it, for well over 20 years. In fact, it's even got a slight wear-relief on one side!
Mine's naked, though! None of yer puffy hockey stuff!
We're reight 'ard upt'North!

 

[Chief Sawdust Maker]

LOL if your that 'ard upt'North cant you just score it with a finger nail!!!!!!!

Use hockey tape on a lot of common tools got the idea from Rob Cosman start with a twisted layer then cover it really improves the grip and feel.
I have fairly large hands and white finger in a number of my digits, how I wish more attention was paid to vibration years ago

 

[Sideways]

Irwin makes almost identical ones - I have one. They;re metal rather than plastic too.

So they do !
Hiding their light under a bushel by not really advertising it's best feature
https://www.irwin.eu/tools/utility-knives-and-blades/protouch-snap-off-heavy-duty-knife

 

[John DeLapp]

Traditionally people used to sharpen "utility"knives. These ready sharpened snap-off blades were designed for schools and other institutions with unskilled beginners.

My knife of choice, for the last fifty years, has been the old Stanley fixed blade 198 or 199. I’ve always had a blade dispenser screwed to the wall for when a blade is so buggered that I don’t want to fool with sharpening it any further. The difference for me is the proliferation of Amazon and the like packaging and tape residue, it gums up everything. So I bought an Olfa box cutter knife. It is, I grant you, a wild extravagance just snapping a tip off instead of getting a paper towel and naptha or alcohol and giving it a good scrub but I’ve decided, in my dotage, to be a little profligate in this area at least.

 

[ajs]

I've owned this in the 9mm size.
A good design with one flaw when I owned it. The screw thread on the yellow knob at the back is quite coarse and as a result it quickly became loose whenever the knife was in use. This was annoying and it ultimately went in the bin.
I haven't tried it in the 18mm size or recently to see if they changed the screw thread to fix the problem.

I picked up a couple of 9mm knives earlier this year and yes they are a let down compared to the 18mm I've had for a number of years. Yes, the nut doesn't lock properly but also the clamping action of the larger knife isn't replicated - you can still extend or retract the blade with the knob tightened up as best you can. It's completely impossible on the larger knife. My only minor complaint about the larger one is the lack of any form of detent or other tactile indication on the thread between the "blade adjustable but halves secured" and "halves can be separated for blade replacement" settings, once the friction is off is can spin between the two freely. On the other hand I consider that a small price for a knife that in use makes even the fixed position Stanley knives feel wobbly in comparison.

 

[stuart little]

Have you noticed that scalpel blades feel hair splittingly sharp for about the first 6-10 feet of cutting and then become merely "very sharp" and still better than a new ordinary replaceable blade.
A lesson learned cutting shadowfoam for toolboxes is that after cutting in 3 or at most 4 tools, you fit a new scalpel blade. The old ones are still at 90% so save them for other jobs.

I've also noticed that they break VERY easily nowadays, not the usual S M quality IMHO. Cutting foam does dull blades fairly quick, I find.

 

[stuart little]

Yes, mine's like an old friend....had it, used it, for well over 20 years. In fact, it's even got a slight wear-relief on one side!
Mine's naked, though! None of yer puffy hockey stuff!
We're reight 'ard upt'North!

I've got a #3 & #4 S M handle, (among many more) both encased in spalted birch handles. Blades, though, seem much more prone to breaking than they used to be?

 

[imageel]

I too am a fan of Swann Morton scalpels and have owned and used a nickel alloy handled No.3 with 10A blades for over 45y and yes the blades do blunt noticeably if used on tough materials, however if bought in quantity the blades work out @13-15p each so pretty cheap.
I find that genuine Swann Morton blades are somewhat tougher than other brands such as those from NICE and also a more useable profile blade - side by side the 10A from NICE is noticeably slimmer in profile than that from Swann.
Ordinarily I find the blades last for ages before requiring replacement, even when well used they are way sharper than most and the dulling is imperceptible unless you really are doing delicate stuff or working with highly abrasive materials -as I suspect is the case with foam materials.
I recently had a task to re-frame some aluminium framed pleasure boat windows and because I was cutting through retaining mastic at almost full blade depth I found I was frequently breaking blades and certainly the genuine Swann blades seemed to be tougher than those from NICE but both still serviceable in more normal usage.
I know Swann Morton have now switched to stainless for their handles and I have a couple of those too but the original nickel alloy handled one is my preferred goto likely out of nostalgia and the smooth patina it has acquired over years of use - and abuse!

 

[Cozzer]

I've got a #3 & #4 S M handle, (among many more) both encased in spalted birch handles. Blades, though, seem much more prone to breaking than they used to be?

Ye Gods, man!
Spalted birch handles?!
Whatever next?! Zircon-encrusted toilet roll holder?! Gold-plated toilet?!
Is this what we can expect from residents of Herefordshire?!
We know where all the money is, don't we?!








p.s. Lend us a tenner, willya?

 

[Chief Sawdust Maker]

I crave a carbon fibre scalpel handle, that would be the ultimate and I wouldn't use hockey tape on it

 

[Sideways]

I crave a carbon fibre scalpel handle, that would be the ultimate and I wouldn't use hockey tape on it

With a hand flaked obsidian blade ...
You don't do eye surgery in your spare time do you ?

 

[Vulcan]

Thanks to Flying Haggis I bought the Erbauer one and it’s pretty good. Good grip annd onboard storage for spare blades is handy.

 

[Chief Sawdust Maker]

With a hand flaked obsidian blade ...
You don't do eye surgery in your spare time do you ?

Lol if you could forward me a blade that would be great.

With regards to eye surgery the simple answer is no however if you give me this evening to watch a few YouTube videos and I can source the eleusive carbon fibre scalpel handle then as a favour I will give it a go.

I am sure there will be a few commenters along shortly to offer an opinion and advice.

 

[Sideways]

We have all sorts of specialist skills among our members, who knows

 

[flying haggis]

Lol if you could forward me a blade that would be great.

With regards to eye surgery the simple answer is no however if you give me this evening to watch a few YouTube videos and I can source the eleusive carbon fibre scalpel handle then as a favour I will give it a go.

I am sure there will be a few commenters along shortly to offer an opinion and advice.

FWIW i seem to remember being told that cataract surgery now only requires a 3mm incision so you will need a small blade and a steady hand...

 

[stuart little]

Ye Gods, man!
Spalted birch handles?!
Whatever next?! Zircon-encrusted toilet roll holder?! Gold-plated toilet?!
Is this what we can expect from residents of Herefordshire?!
We know where all the money is, don't we?!








p.s. Lend us a tenner, willya?

The birch was a piece of firewood from a mate. I what a Zircon encrusted trh is?

 

[stuart little]

Ye Gods, man!
Spalted birch handles?!
Whatever next?! Zircon-encrusted toilet roll holder?! Gold-plated toilet?!
Is this what we can expect from residents of Herefordshire?!
We know where all the money is, don't we?!








p.s. Lend us a tenner, willya?

Here we are, handles but no tenner.

 

[Sideways]

Thanks to all who helped me track down an alternative. After scouring the catalogues I've settled on the Irwin 18mm model 10507106 which is now on my Christmas list

As it happens I called into a store that carries Olfa products for decorators and bought a pack of their black blades to try (thinner, coated, and yes they feel finer ground and noticeably sharper than ordinary blades).

I also discovered that Olfa do a replaceable saw blade for a retractable jabsaw / padsaw which I'll be interested to try. Don't think much of the tool but the blade's wicked. Ground, bidirectional, and pointed for piercing plasterboard. I'll make a handle for it.

Don't be misled, there is only 1 in a pack, the second blade is an image on the packaging.

Thanks everyone.

 

[cemannion]

Olfa make an 8mm stainless snap off which goes in your top pocket. The black blades are almost scalpel sharp but are considerably harder