Cardboard boxes at work

Let It Bleed said:
I've noticed a lot of people mention that they use their knife at work to break down cardboard boxes. I would think that if breaking down boxes is part of the job, then the employer would provide the tools for this.

Is it just a preference for a superior tool to make work easier? Are boxcutters not suitable for this task? Family business or self employed?

I'm not trying to grind anyone's gears, but am just curious. :)
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Given the number of cretinous and/or dishonest people I have had to work with on many an occasion, if I was an employer I'd also supply only the cheapest reliable box cutter I could find - which is why I always brought my own.
 
Dekz said:
Wow, these are some disappointing posts to read.



In case you run into some zombies on the way home before you get a chance to sharpen your knife? :rolleyes:

Maybe you guys should leave your knife at home in the safe.
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You're disappointed at people using a box cutter to cut boxes? lol.
 
I was at a 3-gun match and some guys were needing to cut a piece of large box off to have a spot to put down the shotgun.

I whipped out my freshly sharp D2 blade, and sliced off a 3 foot piece of this box so easily it got "ooos" and "aahhhs" from the crowd.

I was grinning on the inside, but played it cool.
 
Dekz said:
Disappointed that people on a knife forum use a box cutter to cut boxes, absolutely.
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Um - a box-cutter is still a knife - just not a very fancy one although entirely suited for the job it was designed for. I always try to use the best tool available for the job and the better box-cutters have controlled depth so you don't damage the boxed contents. I don't know if you've ever done night-stacking but a replaceable blade makes a lot of sense when you're on a tight schedule and may have to use the blade for some pretty abusive tasks. Far quicker to change to a fresh blade than having to stop & re-sharpen.
 
I use my own knives to cut boxes because all of the box cutters where I work are either dull as crap or got lost already. Furthermore it has been my experience that a good convex edge cuts better and has better edge retention than a new razor blade. I'll put my Bark River mns against a pos utility razor any time.
 
We have to share a few boxcutters with about 20 fellow employees. The cutters are always dull, and usually misplaced. Therefore, it's much easier to use my knife. I'm kind of surprised that so many people are reluctant to use their knife for CUTTING cardboard in a world where so many knives are used as prybars and wood splitters. Cardboard dulls a knife and perhaps scratches the finish, but does not otherwise harm it in any way. A few swipes on a benchstone and you are good to go. To me, it's easier to touch up a knife blade than to change the blade in a utility knife.
 
antonio_luiz said:
Um - a box-cutter is still a knife - just not a very fancy one although entirely suited for the job it was designed for. I always try to use the best tool available for the job and the better box-cutters have controlled depth so you don't damage the boxed contents. I don't know if you've ever done night-stacking but a replaceable blade makes a lot of sense when you're on a tight schedule and may have to use the blade for some pretty abusive tasks. Far quicker to change to a fresh blade than having to stop & re-sharpen.
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I think his point was that a knife is designed to cut, and with the exception of specialty blades, they're designed to cut just about anything.

Further, I don't know what type of knives you guys are using that dull so quickly, but neither my Benchmade Griptilian or my RC3/Izula combo have ever gotten dull during a job. They may lose a little of their edge, but they're still razor sharp at the end of the day. And I'm talking about a ton of boxes, 10 hours worth of stocking.

That being said, if you prefer to use a box cutter, then more power to ya, I just don't see the point in having a knife on you if your not going to use it for whatever comes up. But that's just me, everyone has their own opinions.....
 
colin8 said:
I worked at Chick-fil-A when I was 15 and I was always using my knives to open/break down boxes. I think the assumption was that if you didn't bring your own knife, you were expected to do it all by hand as we weren't given any box cutters etc. Soon my manager, who was in her sixties, saw how handy it was for me to carry a knife and she actually started carrying a SAK.
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Same thing here. When I was 16 I worked at Taco Bell and it didnt take long for half the people there to get knives after they saw how much mine got used.
 
Box cutters at work are an expense. The manager doesn't like buying them, keeping enough on hand, or keeping blades in stock. Some places, like Walmart, supply them and a sheath, if I noticed that correctly. The modern box knife also uses a spring loaded self retracting blade that must be held out in use.

So, the rest of us knife knuts who understand our personal circumstances may not be optimized by the idealism of political correctness carry knives and get 'er done. It' s a great way to check for resistance to abrasion, how the blade moves through the material, whether the #@*&% box maker used staples under the tape, and how a knife works in REAL LIFE, not the fantasy box cutter work environment the corporate office daydreams about while managing their career ladder moves.

:D
 
Box cutters have thinner blade stock, making it easier to slice and dice boxes efficiently. Given a choice, I'd still take my D2 Paramilitary over it. If you think a 440C or AUS-8 knife get's dull after a day of cutting boxes, I wonder how you can stand those cheap utility blades. Someone should make sets of those in 1095 or A2. I'd buy a pallet. :D
 
For me, where I work, I never know when I'll have to break down a box. I don't always have a box cutter handy, but I always have a knife in my pocket.
 
pvicenzi said:
We have to share a few boxcutters with about 20 fellow employees. The cutters are always dull, and usually misplaced.
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This isn't the fault of boxcutters. If they were replaced with a few high end knives in these circumstances, they'd still always be dull and misplaced. Thus is the fate of communally used items.

The genius of boxcutters is that folks are not scared to abuse them. Chipping a boxcutter blade on a few staples isn't a big concern, but might drive a knife nut into fits when it happens to a fancy folder. No wasting time sharpening the blade, when it's easily replaced. And being so thin, boxcutter blades often work sufficiently even when dull.
 
I'm not going to use a POC box cutter when I bought my knives to use them. Who cares if they need sharpening? They're going to need it anyway.

Just my opinion, take it for what it's worth ;)
 
I guess there are a few arguments for using box cutters, like if your knife blade won't stay sharp for a whole day of work. (I would argue that you need to buy a better knife, but i digress).

My comment wasn't entirely serious. I just thought that enthusiasts would prefer to use a real knife as much as possible.

Reading this thread made me feel like I would if I found out Mario Andretti drives a Camry ;)
 
Dekz said:
I guess there are a few arguments for using box cutters, like if your knife blade won't stay sharp for a whole day of work. (I would argue that you need to buy a better knife, but i digress).
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It doesn't matter what steel your knife's blade is made from, what the grind is, or how it is heat treated, cardboard is an abrasive material. Cutting cardboard will quickly degrade that bragging edge many of us here have on our pocket knives from scary sharp to just regular, non-knifenut sharp.
 
kamagong said:
It doesn't matter what steel your knife's blade is made from, what the grind is, or how it is heat treated, cardboard is an abrasive material. Cutting cardboard will quickly degrade that bragging edge many of us here have on our pocket knives from scary sharp to just regular, non-knifenut sharp.
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Very true. However, I'll say it again, those utility knives don't even come scary sharp. Wire edges on whole batches of them. It's really depressing when you have to use one.
 
kamagong said:
It doesn't matter what steel your knife's blade is made from, what the grind is, or how it is heat treated, cardboard is an abrasive material. Cutting cardboard will quickly degrade that bragging edge many of us here have on our pocket knives from scary sharp to just regular, non-knifenut sharp.
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That is eventually going to happen to your knife no matter what you do with it. Sharpening your knife is part of being a knifenut.
 
I generally use box cutters when there is a lot of cardboard to be cut down or in circumstances where I know the blade on my folder will get damaged.
Yes with box cutters the blades do need be changed regularly.I'll snap a section of the blade off as soon as I feel it start to tear instead of cut. I'm fortunate enough that my employer will replace / provide any consumables that I use during the course of job, so replacement blades for me are never a problem. I carry a box of both hardened box cutter blades and a box of "precision cutting blades" and also a "sharps" box which I keep all used blades and snapped segments which are later disposed of safely.
Not all box cutter blades are equal, there are a lot of cheap rubbish blades out there so as with any knife buy good quality.
 
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