Found a very good tape for blade masking use...

H

HallHandmade

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Jun 5, 2012
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I was at the hardware store to restock masking tape and found this stuff newly stocked... It's unlike anything I've seen before. I used it for a couple knives before posting this, and it is quite good for taping up blades in my opinion.

I'm not sure if it is completely new, or just new to my store. It is a UV resistant, high adhesion masking tape that is plastic based instead of paper based. It has small lines pressed into the surface to help it tear cleanly, but it only tends to rip at those lines if you specifically try, otherwise the tape stays intact and even stretches quite nicely.

It's *very* similar to the flexible vinyl protective film you find on stainless and aluminum sheet sometimes. It has some stretch and conforms better than paper based tapes, at least for me.

I love this stuff...

Doesn't absorb water
Sticks really hard
Lines let you tear it cleanly once on the blade, to give a little space from the ricasso, etc.
Comes off in one piece, almost every time (this is HUGE for me :))
Costs the same, give or take
Conforms well to contours and tends to not want to peel up
One layer of this has been more effective than two layers of standard tape, for me at least

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man... We just stocked up on tape today too.

I look forward to trying that next time.
 
I've been seeing the commercials for a while. Might pick some up to try next time I'm at the store.
 
Well, it is still very new for me, but initial impressions are that this will be my new standard tape for this purpose. For instance I can grind some of the tang when fitting the handle, and dip the tang in water to cool it without having to be super careful not to ruin the tape that I just carefully applied and trimmed. If you clean the blade well before applying the tape so you get a good bond, since the backing is plastic and doesn't get waterlogged, it seems to stay fast even when exposed to some moisture

I've found that I have to sometimes reapply traditional masking tape two or three times or more per blade, but this stuff just stays in place until you want it gone, at which point it comes off very easily in one piece, with little or no residue remaining.

It seems like the properties that 3m was going for to make this tape robust for exterior use, also makes it ideal for what the tape encounters when used to mask blades.

I remember there being a conversation here a little while back, and while everyone seemed to have their favorite masking tape, it seemed like some folks felt (as I did) that what they were using still wasn't quite ideal.

Not only easier to apply/remove and more effective, it costs the same and I find I've used half or even a fourth of the tape I'd usually use per blade.
 
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I think it's worth a shot Ken. I am cautious about claiming it to be the cure-all after having used it on only a couple blades, but it appears very promising at this point.

Just to play around/some extra info for everyone, I slapped a piece on a dirty blade, then swished it around in my dip bucket a few times, and let it sit on my bench while I wrote an email.

I wiped it dry with a paper towel, and it appeared unscathed. I peeled it up and there was no loss of adhesion, and no water under any of the edges, so it was essentially 100% intact after repeated submersion, even on a blade that was not well cleaned.

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I took a piece and stretched it out between my thumbs, and then started a tear at one of the ends using my fingers, just to show a bit how this stuff acts.

For anyone who did drafting, it reminds me of mylar drawing film mixed with electrical tape flexibility. As mentioned above, it also reminds me of that resilient protective film you often see on stuff like brushed sheet metal.

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Looks very cool. I wonder if it will stain/etch carbon steel like some tape seems to do?
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
Looks to be a pretty useful tape.
For those who can't find it - I just use 2" wide electrical tape.
Click to expand...

I bet that would work quite well also. Before I tried this I was thinking about the pipe insulation wrap tape that is similar to electrical tape but thicker. I think a lot of folks are familiar with it. It's that stuff used to wrap that split foam tubing for hose bibs, etc. I was worried that the adhesive was a bit thick/gooey, so I hadn't tried it yet.

What I like about this stuff is that the adhesive is thin and medium stickiness, so it sticks well but is easy to remove and doesn't seem to leave residue.


NickWheeler said:
Cool stuff Ian, thanks for the tip! :cool:
Click to expand...

No prob... I know there are more than a few of us "tool geeks" around here, always looking for some new toy to play with :D


BenR.T. said:
Looks very cool. I wonder if it will stain/etch carbon steel like some tape seems to do?
Click to expand...

I wonder if it might help. I live in the desert so condensation isn't usually too big of a problem, but I suspected that some of that might be moisture retention in the tape. I could also see the adhesive having some kind of acidity, but you'd think they would try to minimize it because it would possibly damage paint.
 
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