Folding Knife or Box Cutter/Utility Knife for EDC?

[hatchetjack]

Can't cut my apple properly with a box cutter.

 

[Nightshifter]

Can't beat carrying a good old-fashioned Stockman. Three different blades for many uses.

 

[mmarkh]

Folding Knife or Box Cutter for EDC?

Well, I think it's obvious what majority of people here at bladeforums would choose.

I know different people from different places have very different days, but let's say EDC for urban to light rural environments. Nothing that involves cutting trees etc....

It was just something that crossed my mind.

Why have a folder when you can have a box cutter for 1/50-1/400 of the price?

How much of your/my normal EDC chores can't a box cutter do and a folder can?
How much of your/my average day involves heavy duty cutting if at all?
What everyday tasks would a box cutter not cut it?

And what do you guys and girls say to those who ask you why carry a knife when a box cutter could do the job cutting? (Let's say they asked you when you were opening a package with a knife)

Thanks for any opinions on this thought that probably has popped up in other people's minds as well one way or another...then maybe just dismissing it to get that oh so nice knife.

Have you ever peeled an apple with a box cutter? Ever cut a sandwich with a box cutter? Have you ever admired the craftsmanship of your box cutter? A box cutter is for cutting boxes repeatedly, not for edc purposes.

 

[EricV]

I've cut myself more with box cutters than any knife. They are down right dangerous for cutting thick zipties, rope, or anything that might twist the blade even a little. They are really good for cutting....Boxes!

c'mon now, if I use a box cutter for my muggings people will laugh at me instead of forking over their hard earned dollars.

Kind of funny given the shear numbers behind weapons used in violent crimes. Knife wise I think the boxcutter was just behind kitchen knives when the stats were presented in a class.

 

[woseyjales]

Here's an EDC folder/boxcutter for a cost of about $10
That's hard to beat imho.
Opinel No.6 carbon

 

[dextersp1]

Have you ever peeled an apple with a box cutter? Ever cut a sandwich with a box cutter? Have you ever admired the craftsmanship of your box cutter? A box cutter is for cutting boxes repeatedly, not for edc purposes.

Peeling fruit is required in places where you can not wash it. I wash mine and the skin is a good source of vitamins and fiber Why do you need to cut your sandwich?

Yes the Gerber EAB can be admired for its form and function.

 

[EricV]

Peeling fruit is required in places where you can not wash it. I wash mine and the skin is a good source of vitamins and fiber Why do you need to cut your sandwich?

Yes the Gerber EAB can be admired for its form and function.

Why should a person change their habits for an inanimate object?

 

[tipoc]

Well I'll look at it differently maybe. I think a boxcutter is good for a variety of things and their design has improved a good deal over the years. They were designed for use in industry-on the job-where, as the blade dulls, more of it can be easily exposed so you can keep on cutting. The depth of cut can be set and maintained by extending the blade out a certain amount and locking it in place. Because the blades are disposable they can be quickly changed out and a person can keep on working. This is important on the job where time is always a factor.

Box cutters are good at opening boxes and breaking them down. Good at scoring sheetrock, cutting tarpaper, cutting lengths of absorbent carpeting for soaking up chemical spills, etc. They excel at this sort of job. They have their limitations in other areas.

At most only and inch or two of cutting edge can be exposed usually. The blade is set as a slicer and not a poker so even though a good many people do carry these for self defense (usually they carry these because they want to avoid looking like they are carrying a knife) the box cutter is limited in that roll. You can slice with it, but only so deep. They can make handy impact weapons though.

I bring a lot of meals from home to heat up at work and cutting a pork chop or a piece of steak, or slicing a sandwich is a lot handier with a knife than a box cutter. Easier to clean a knife, even a folder, than it is to clean a box cutter after you've cut up your apple or pear.

It's easier to pull a metal chip out of my finger with a knife than a boxcutter. Same is true of digging a metal chip out of my boot.

I have no problem with a fella who wants to carry a box cutter, I just find a knife a more rounded tool. I keep the box cutter in my tool box for the tasks it excels at.

tipoc

 

[Clang!]

I carry the tools everyday that I find useful on the job and in day to day life. Boxcutters stay in my tool box because they are less useful to me than a folding knife on the job and in day to day life.

A boxcutter is a specialized tool and cannot take the place of a knife for simple multipurpose utility.

tipoc

A EDC knife has to handle a lot of different chores adaquetly. I've tried boxcutters, scissors, big folders, and SAKs. A boxcutter is very good at one thing, cutting thin materials. Most are kinda usless beyond that. That being said, I have used them professionally (worked in a refrigerated warehouse)and have them salted around in various tool kits.

If you intend to carry one for ECD, get one of the snap-off types. The extra blade length helps.

 

[DoctaD]

tipoc,
Good answer.

 

[mmarkh]

Peeling fruit is required in places where you can not wash it. I wash mine and the skin is a good source of vitamins and fiber Why do you need to cut your sandwich?

Yes the Gerber EAB can be admired for its form and function.

Keep using your Gerber. I stick with my Sebenza and slipjoints.

 

[shecky]

Remarkable how passionate some feel about boxcutters. Truth is, they are just knives. And like any knife, it's unlikely to be the beginning and end of useful edc tools. Most of the criticisms lobbed against the boxcutter also apply to the SAK classic.

Unvarnished truth is that the boxcutter makes a fantastic edc for an awful lot of people, even if it's insufficiently elegant or prestigious for the tastes of some knifenuts.

 

[Tony8179]

There seems to be some confusion between a boxcutter and a razor knife. A boxcutter is a razor blade in a small frame that exposes the corner of the blade. A metal sleeve is fitted over the frame so that it can be slid out of the way to expose that corner or the razor blade or slid to cover the razor blade. A razor knife can have a solid handle with a retractable blade, a solid handle with a non retractable blade, a folding handle, or one of those retractable razor knives that have the snap off blade.

 

[tipoc]

I agree that there is some confusion. The post above by Clang! shows a craft knife and not a box cutter/utility knife (maybe I'm being too picky and it is a lightweight box cutter.) The craft knife has a blade that is retractable or can be extended and is scoured so that the dulled portion can be broken off. It is mostly for lighter tasks than the boxcutter/utility knife.

A good many versions of the traditional boxcutter have been made over the years.

Stanley tools and others have made the classic box cutter for a few decades now.

Here is from from an outfit called MaxiSafe that features the standard trapezodal blade that fit in these knives.

http://www.martorusa.com/Maxisafe-3-Sided-Slider-101860

And a few other pics here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_knife

According to some all these various types of work blades are utility knives.

tipoc

 

[scarysharp]

Dude I'm with you on that on, just like a pocketknife is called a pocketknife because it is used to cut.....uhmm wait, that can't be right

I carry a knife instead of a box cutter, because it's on of the few jewellery's a man can wear, and it does not even have to be pretty like women jewelry.

You MIGHT have point if the nomenclature was "pocket-cutter", but its not.

I stand by my original statement:
"Its called a box-cutter because thats what it was meant to do", anyone who cares to carry a boxcutter for an EDC is fine by me, just dont ask to borrow my knife when the box-cutter cant handle the task you need it for

 

[Jose Boxcutter]

which box cutter is better and safe to use ?

 

[Charlie_K]

Why should a person change their habits for an inanimate object?

In my case I started wearing a belt when I got my BK9. Before then I never really had reason for one.

 

[unklfranco]

2011?

 

[maximus83]

Right tool for the job. I use box cutters for heavy box work to spare my nice folders and fixed blades. But I carry a nice folder or fixed on me at all times, and it is a FAR more useful tool because more versatile to a wide array of tasks. If specialized on heavy box cutting, agree a box cutter is hard to beat. Use the right tool for the job.

 

[22-rimfire]

which box cutter is better and safe to use ?

As with most things, it depends on what you use the utility knife for. For me I found the folding box cutters (with clips) to be to small or insufficiently large to allow my hand to be well away from what I'm cutting. I cut a lot of carpet from time to time for example.

Welcome to the forum Jose. It would have made sense just to start a new thread. But I know how it is...