favorite utility (Stanley) knife?

[derekcohen]

What does one use a “utility” knife to do?

Do you use it for marking out? It is pretty clumsy for this task.

Do you use it to cut string, or cut cardboard boxes? it can do this, but that is hardly woodworking.

I own some of of the knives mentioned here. Sometimes I carry one in pocket waiting for the opportunity to use it. It gets replaced on the shelf, where it sulks.

The knives I like need to also work on the bench ... marking dovetails or tenons, scoring lines. That they can be used in a more general way as well is a bonus.

Best and cheapest: Stanley ...

From Lee Valley, a fisherman’s knife, which I reground into a straight blade (it was curved ...

And this Damascus bladed Japanese folding knife ...

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[bertv]

Best and cheapest: Stanley ...

Plus one on the Stanley! Lost mine and was so crushed that I ordered two (one has te be prepared). Also have fifty blades in stock.
My original one was 'shiny', the newer ones look like the one in the picture — not as nice IMO. But hey…

 

[Cheese]

Is this the original?https://toolmonger.com/2008/12/08/utility-knife-revolver/

I believe it is Bob. Here's a shot of the replacement blades I purchased with Tim Allen's face on the front.  [eek]  The Husky is aluminum while the Ryobi's are plastic. I use the Stanley's for shingles & tar paper.

[attachimg=1]

 

[Charles959]

Milwaukee Fastback for me.  It's replaced my pocketknife, in fact.

Wirecutter chose the Milwaukee 48-22-1903:
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-utility-knife/

 

[Crox G]

I'm with Derek #20 and Bert #21 on the small folding Stanley.  It's the one that Paul Sellers uses, too.  It slides nicely into one of the slots in my Festool apron. The blade hones to razor-sharp.

I had trouble opening the blade, because there's no thumbnail groove.  A drop of thick CA glue near the edge of the blade makes it easy.

Crox

 

[yetihunter]

This

[attachimg=1]

+

this

[attachimg=2]

 

[Banana]

The 'MUTHA'...  accept no Other.

 

[RKA]

Utility knives are like pencils.  I always need one and it's no good to me if I can't find it.  I use these things for messy tasks, not dovetails.  The blades get plunged into concrete every now an again.  They get tossed on my lawn while I'm working, and I would really like to bring them inside when I'm done doing what I'm doing. 

After having lost or misplaced my gray Stanley countless times (it was my one and only for a long time) from an hour to years, I threw in the towel and purchased several Dewalt retractable blade utility knives.  The ones with bright yellow.  Or the Lenox (white).  I also added some Olfa knives (also bright yellow), their blades are really very good.  I haven't misplaced one since...well, not for more than a few minutes.  And none lost on the lawn. 

 

[hallsvt]

Agree with Cheese re the Nack / Ryobi / Husky Quick Change Utility Knife.  Too bad that these have been discontinued and no longer available (other than on eBay). 

These were invented and patented by Ted Funger of Burlington, Ontario in the mid/late 1990s.  Manufactured by Omega Tool Corporation in Ontario, which specializes in plastic tooling, the Nack Knife was first marketed by a company (maybe Mr. Funger's?) named Nack Products in the US & Canada which promoted the Nack Knife as the first tool in Tim "Toolman Taylor" Allen's short-lived line of "Tim Allen Signature Tools".  Mr. Funger's invention won “Best Invention of The Year” and also the invention with the "most worldwide commercial opportunity" (ironically, as it turned out).

The Nack Knife was later rebranded/relabeled for Ryobi as the "Ryobi Quick Change Knife", sold primarily at Home Depot.  Later, when Ryobi discontinued their version, Home Depot picked it up and sold it as the Husky Nack Knife and the aluminum-bodied Husky Nack Pro.  In Europe, I believe the Nack Knife was marketed as the Rota Knife.  All these versions use the same rotating knife cartridges. 

Their genius was probably also the cause of their demise:  with 30 blades per cartridge, one Nack Knife and cartridge would last most consumers for the rest of their lives, and you could go for years, maybe decades, before you needed to buy a new 30-blade cartridge. Needless to say, the Nack Knife did not benefit from many repeat sales.

These days, Nack Knifes in original packaging are going for $30-40 on eBay, way more than what they sold for originally, and the replacement cartridges are growing increasingly scarce, typically $7 per. The metal versions, either Nack-brand or Husky Nack Pro are even more rare, for good reason.  Cartridges with hooked blades for cutting thick materials (carpet, linoleum, roofing material) are/were also available.

Worth grabbing if you come across one of these, but I'd also get a replacement cartridge on eBay while you still can.
https://toolmonger.com/2008/12/08/utility-knife-revolver/

These are by far and away the best knives to use. I have Olfa's, Stanley's, a Lennox and a Milwaukee...this thing just kicks butt.  No tools are needed to advance the knife or to rotate the knife cartridge or to swap out the knife cartridge. 15 blade changes are available by just rotating the cartridge and then another 15 blade changes are available when you rotate the cartridge end-for-end. So 30 fresh blades per cartridge and all without tools. 

The carbide blades for a Stanley however, are very interesting for certain applications.

[attachimg=1]
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[leakyroof]

I've been using the stanley 10-825 since they came out (went through a lot of them already, and first thing I do when I get a new one is removing the belthook). [attachimg=1]

Before that this model was my favourite: [attachimg=2]

I like the quick blade change and the in-handle spare blade storage (I always keep 2 straight and one hooked blade in the handle) At some point in time stanley changed the rubber on the handle of my previous favourite to hard plastic. The lighter weight of the folding version quickly made it my new fav,

Interesting thread, If I see it in a store I'll pick up one of those milwaukees to try out. The maker knife looks awesome, and it can easily be used as a bottle opener (allthough I would never use it as such if  I had one, for some reason I always use my cigarette lighter)

. I have two, at least, of the Silver Stanley shown. Fits nice in my hand, easy to change blades, and access the blade storage section too.
I thought I would use the string cutting slot more , but rarely do..... [smile] [smile]

 

[Packard]

Milwaukee Fastback for me.  It's replaced my pocketknife, in fact.

Is that the same as "Olfa"?  Olfa is my favorite.  They make several types, the ones with a thumbwheel lock are the most durable.

 

[Imemiter]

I love this thread. Several interesting knives I've never heard of.

For the last six or seven years my favorite has been this safety orange Techni-Edge Swift Switch. It has my preferred bent handle and a more solid blade purchase than most of the non-retracting knives I've had. The black spring-loaded block pivots off the back allowing the two halves to separate for tool-less swift blade switches. There's space for ten extra blades, and the blade retainer is held in place by a magnet so it doesn't fall out during swift switching. The magnet also snicks the new blade in place until the two halves can be swiftly reassembled.

These were on display at the board store and came with the same plastic sheath Occidental now includes for sharps with their toolbelts. initially, the sheath caught my eye more than the knife. But after a week of use, and intuiting that like so many good ideas it was doomed to be discontinued, I went back and got another for a spare. Pictured is the first one. 

In 2018 Stanley bought Techni-Edge and from the look of things, drowned them in the bathtub. They were too swift to live. 

[attachimg=1]

 

[harry_]

This guy

 

[Michael Kellough]

It’s nice to be able to change blades quickly but sometimes you want the most rigid blade possible and that kind of knife has to be screwed tight. My favorite of that kind is a really old DEFIANCE cast iron knife. It is heavier than most but the handle halves are perforated to lighten it up and the holes also improve the grip. That blade does not wiggle a single nanometer.

 

[Packard]

I have this light-duty breakaway knife from Olfa.  I find that the thumbwheel lock is the most reliable.

For heavier cuts I use this Olfa, again with the thumbwheel lock:

In my pocket is this Gerber lock back knife.  The blade is held in place with a set screw.  Slower to replace, but no wiggle or wobble. Very compact with a money clip or belt clip included.  All stainless steel.

For cutting larger boards I use a Fletcher 3000 mat/glass/plastic cutter.  Wall mounted and not portable, heavy and expensive (about $3,000.00 currently); it was left over from my picture framing business.  It cuts up to 40" tall, in mat boards,  glass or plexiglass with the use of a turret head holding various cutters.  I am not recommending its purchase, but if you have one it is great.  Limited to 90 degree cuts.

 

[demographic]

The 'MUTHA'...  accept no Other.

Yeah, me too.
They're big, kind of heavy but the floorlayers use em cos theyre comfortable and last well.
Can't see me changing and the ones with too much moving parts just get ,clogged up with plasterboard dust and die.

 

[rst]

I helped a flooring guy back in the early seventies.  We kept a sharpening stone to tune up our blades back then as the billions of Chinese ones were not as available.  I exclusively use Olfas now, four different sizes, but still keep an extra fine DMT file to tune up for an even sharper edge at times.

 

[jeh]

Milwaukee Fastback for me.  It's replaced my pocketknife, in fact.

+1 on the Milwaukee. Wore out my old Stanley favorites and switched to the fastback. It is well-built and the folding mechanism is a plus.

 

[Cheese]

Here are a couple I just ran across.

203994 [attachimg=1]

498183 [attachimg=2]

 

[Imemiter]

I'm not a massive fan of snap-off cutters, but I'll probably pick up a Knipex CutiX just to throw in the toolbox. The extendible "spine" seems like a feature that might be useful a couple of times a year or so.