Geofabric eats blades

Yea I can imagine after my recent carpet experience.

As mentioned, ZT does not harden their blades well at all. They focus getting as many units made as they can out and on reducing breakage from the bubba gun shop crowd who buy them (at MSRP) largely because of the “Made in USA” on the box...and then use it as a folding screwdriver and end up angrily calling CS when it breaks.

For cutting high abrasive materials you really need high vanadium steel, S90/110, Maxamet etc. S110 gives you 9% vanadium and 3% niobium, plus a cobalt enhancement. Maxamet is 6% vanadium but also has a large tungsten content plus cobalt enhancement. I probably wouldn’t use M4/HAP40/Rex45, they are more intended for red hardness and just don’t have the outright abrasive wear resistance that 4%+ vanadium steels do.
 
Another vote for a utility knife. I'd recommend one with a nice cushioned grip as opposed to metal.
 
I'll take a different point of view-

Sure, a cheap utility knife with replaceable blades will cover many cutting chores, and it becomes even more economical if your employer provides the knife and blades, but there is a sense of satisfaction that comes from using ones own, personal knife, even at work.

I'm 50 years old, and I've used knives at various jobs for most of my life (landscaping, construction, shipping) and even when utility knives were provided, I still carried and used my own knives.

If a knife is just a cutting tool to someone, then any cutting tool that will do the job is fine. But if you're a "knife enthusiast", and I assume that anyone who would join and frequent a "knife forum" is, then there is the added satisfaction of using a knife that represents ones own sense of individuality and personal taste. After all, how many of us purchase knives with only cutting ability in mind, and give no thought whatsoever to how the knife appeals to our sense of taste, or how it expresses our own individuality.

At my shipping job I was provided with multiple utility knives and an endless supply of blades, but I preferred to use a Bradley Alias for many of the same tasks a utility knife would have handled. The Bradley Alias not only did the job, but it also represented my individuality in a place where almost everyone else used generic company issued box-cutters.

After awhile, inspired by me using my own knives, coworkers started brining their own knives, and some coworkers who previously had no interest in knives developed an interest (in some cases a strong interest). The place went from a bunch of guys mostly using generic, boring box-cutters, to a bunch of knife enthusiasts who would get together before work, on breaks, and at lunch and talk knives, admire each others knives, talk about the best knives for particular tasks, discuss knife performance, have a sharpening session, teach the inexperienced how to sharpen, and etc, etc. Bringing and using our own personal knives became a group bonding activity that made a boring job a lot more fun.

And then there's this- I have a small tool box full of folders that I've bought and received throughout my life, and I'm sad to say that I've never worn any out. Most of those knives just sit there, unused, and will no doubt find their way into the hands of other people after I die. I WISH I could have used at least some of those knives to the point of wearing them out. I have often said to myself "Damn, I wish I had more stuff that needed cutting". Not even the frequent use I put some of them to at various "cutting-heavy" jobs wore them out. I put that Bradley Alias to daily frequent use for several years, and I have a Buck 110 that I received when I was 12 that has seen heavy use (and still gets used), and I predict that both knives will easily outlast me.

So I say, what the hell, if you've got a knife that you really like, and it will do the job you need done, then why not use it. Life is short, use your knife. In my opinion, if your lucky, maybe you will actually wear it out, how cool would that be. After all, we can't take them with us.
 
Sometimes a utility knife really is the right tool for the job.

view

I satisfied my nerd side by using a fixed blade Stanley utility knife. No fancy retractable or flippable utility knives for me. Old school cool.

check out that checkering and the fleur de lis. Similar to 1911 grips.
 
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This stuff is indeed the ultimate edge retention test! I’ve cut thousands of feet of 500x mirafi and have settled on a utility knife with heavy duty blades or a D2 Ontario Rat 1 sharpened with medium grit diamond.
 
One of the last jobs I oversaw as a general contractor was the installation of a new landfill in the county I live in. I had 250,000 syd of non woven 6oz to install over the sand filter. We used a hot saw with an abrasive blade to "cut" the rolls to width but also had a lot of cut to length. The only blade that would cut that fabric was a serrated blade - figured that out by trying the serrated blade on my Gerber multi tool - I ended up going to the restaurant supply and picking up 2 dozen good quality bread knives. This was back in my pre-bladeforums induced knife fetish - have no idea what the steel was, but they did perform. I sell alot of woven/non woven polypropylene fabrics as well as geogrids - trying to cut any of those products with a non-serrated blade is a lesson in futility.
 
this is the reason I've kept my vg10 spydy delica with the combo-edge... (since the early 'oughts)
(it's one of the very few serrated blades I own, but it can come in handy)
 
45 years ago I used to hang a lot of wallpaper. (real paper wallpaper & vinyl stuff also)
My friend and mentor - Old Floyd - turned me on to using a good set of shears.
Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

I used an Uncle Henry 3 blade folder back then also. I finally had to admit the shears worked a lot better than a blade of any kind.
Blades - even single edge razor blades - just tore the wet paper too badly & dulled way to fast.
Shears just lasted and lasted and lasted.
 
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