Title#3 hvac advice, knife reviews, hurt butts, and sarcasm all welcome

Korean Hog

Korean Hog

Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Messages
1,254
I'm an HVAC guy and my favorite combo so far is the ZT 0350 partially serrated for ductwork (especially flex duct), tarp, carflex, basically any heavy duty range tasks and the spyderco ladybug h1 salt fully serrated hawkbill for skinning wire, opening packages, peeling back insulation etc. What knife/ knives are y'all carrying on the job? I'm asking specifically HVAC guys but any working men/ women/ tradesman more than welcome to chime in!
 
Background of what some of my work entails: Winkler Knives II Emergency Response Tool. As it pertains to HVAC pick up work, responsibilities where a blade comes in handy are limited to deburring (e.g. holes drilled in the coil housing for UV), removing heavy-duty nylon ties and sizing sections of flex duct. I also use a knife to strip 6 AWG and below wire. My traditional jobsite carries have been plain edged and fixed: SRKW Hairy Carry in 154CM, Busse Nuclear EDC in INFI, CRK Nyala in S35VN and now the CPK EDC in D3V (as of last Saturday). My primary work folder is the Umnumzaan of which the swedge (similar to Nuclear EDC and the Nyala) has proved invaluable in preserving the primary edge for general scraping and clearing duties.
 
Last edited:
Joe ( palonej palonej ) will have some good advice for you.

But... to be honest, I very rarely see any knives on the jobsite for any trade. There are utility knives galore, but I've only met 2 or 3 guys who shared an interest in knives like I did (kinda). On any given project, I manage between 25-100 subcontractors, and I'm always "the knife guy".

That said, I carry many different knives to work. Today I carried a Rockstead Chi and only sharpened pencils with it. Other days I'll carry my Thorburn L51 and cut a mile of old silt fence up. Occasionally, some scissorbilled-jackwagon empties their tree trimmings in our rolloff and takes up all the usable space, so I'll chop and baton it all up with my Lionsteel M7. Sometimes I'll cut drywall with a ZDP Endura, or I'll cut carpet with a Sebenza.

Point being, just use whatever you have and know the limits of a folding knife. If your Sebenza snapped in two because you tried to lift a manhole cover with it, well, I'd call you a scissorbilled-jackwagon:p
 
use all different brands and steels daily nowadays. spent my early years in the business hanging and wrapping ductwork. used cheap ductknives back then.

btw, you forgot about those "r "guys.
 
I'm an electrician and everyday I use my stanley knife can't live without it, I know as long as I've got spare blades I don't have to worry bout not having a sharp knife or having to sharpen it also I carry a Sak multi tool which gets a lot of use if I need a 3" blade it's got it plus scissors all multi tools have to have em
Cheers John
 
Last edited:
I work as a service plumber for the most part, sometimes I'm construction. (Fairly different work conditions from one to the other.)

Some service guys I know use multi tools or milwaukee/Dewalt style folding knives. Construction sites are generally olfa H-1 zones.

I've found one of the most useful knives I carry as a service plumber is my SAK pioneer. It's super handy for a bunch of things. The pointy awl is probably the most used along with the flat.

I have a GEC 72 lockback in carbon steel that loves to take a beating cutting insulation, mj clamp seals (the rubber portion), ferncos and other jobs I don't want to use nicer knives for. (But sometimes do)

For primary, I like a good one hand opener and closer, that's easy to take in and out of the pocket. Xm slicer I carried today along with my LG insingo both work great in the "go to" position. Others that I rotate are Domino, Manix 2, 0392, Slysz bowie, Shirogorov. And others.
 
Thanks for the heads up Tyler!!
HVAC dude for over 40 years. Family's been in the business since 1928.
I've always carried knives with me.
Recently it's been a fully serrated Pac Salt and a Kershaw Link.
That Pac Salt eats up those monstrous zip ties for flex duct!!
The Link does a great job on cutting up flex duct!
Installed a 2 hp low temp Copeland iron horse and an expansion valve in a 4 door reach in today. Just finished up.
Pac Salt sliced up that sticky pipe insulation inside the evap pretty good. That stuff is torture!! Naturally the valve was a sweat valve. That insulation will burn and stink up the whole store!! Real tough to remove, but it MUST come off before going in there with a torch!!
I find those 2 knives cover me pretty well.
Joe
 
jbmonkey said:
maybe so. those refrigeration guys are a serious bunch.
Click to expand...
The shop I work for was primarily plumbers when I started over 10 years ago, now on the service side the hvac&r guys outnumber us 2:1.

Always have to make fun of each other, I think it's a rule when you sign up for a trade.
 
The refrigeration guys I've worked with were like a mix of Ringling Bros. Circus and Tim Taylor.

They know their trade...well.

But ask them to tie their shoes:p
 
Steamfitters FTW. Turdherders and hvac cant hang on 7 12s.

Sosa,
I think you are channeling my Dad now.
He used to run crews of men on Steel Mill furnace turn arounds. For him it meant 36 straight hours until it was done. (could have been more; not sure; I was a little kid then). Would come home for dinner but right back.

I inherited a love for TIG welding and silver brazing but never went into the trade. Used to sit on a bar stool at Muggsy's Inn when I was like six and listen to it all though. Crawled around on the locked "Hyderlifts" in the yard about every Saturday while Pop argued it all out in the office. Those were the days.

sorry . . . had to reminisce a little . . . carry on . . .
 
Last edited:
Sosa said:
Steamfitters FTW. Turdherders and hvac cant hang on 7 12s.
Click to expand...
12's are easy when you're just setting up the welder to do his thing every hour or so.

Zing

Haha, I've been on shut downs before. I've done a fair bit of fitting. A lot of the heating stuff is moving away from metal and going plastic now tho.
 
[URL=http://s1153.photobucket.com/user/dumbaysturgeonstrangler/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsb4yglrs4.jpeg.html][/URL]
image_zpsb4yglrs4.jpeg
[/URL][/IMG] This thread is awesome guys. Refineries look like star wars at night
 
Blues Bender said:
Joe ( palonej palonej ) will have some good advice for you.

But... to be honest, I very rarely see any knives on the jobsite for any trade. There are utility knives galore, but I've only met 2 or 3 guys who shared an interest in knives like I did (kinda). On any given project, I manage between 25-100 subcontractors, and I'm always "the knife guy".

That said, I carry many different knives to work. Today I carried a Rockstead Chi and only sharpened pencils with it. Other days I'll carry my Thorburn L51 and cut a mile of old silt fence up. Occasionally, some scissorbilled-jackwagon empties their tree trimmings in our rolloff and takes up all the usable space, so I'll chop and baton it all up with my Lionsteel M7. Sometimes I'll cut drywall with a ZDP Endura, or I'll cut carpet with a Sebenza.

Point being, just use whatever you have and know the limits of a folding knife. If your Sebenza snapped in two because you tried to lift a manhole cover with it, well, I'd call you a scissorbilled-jackwagon:p
Click to expand...

I've been on the job for 45 years, Tyler, and my experience is very similar to yours. I find a lot guys with clips showing, but when I ask to see and compare notes, their knives are almost invariably junk and duller than dirt. I've seen a couple Kershaws along the way, but that's about it. My two sons who've worked with me carry nice knives but their interests--and most of their knives--come from YT.

While I do employ both the higher-end user and the beater I carry to work, the old Stanley retractable is usually the best choice for job-site cutting anyway. Prybars are best for prying, chisels best for chiseling, and screwdrivers for screwing. As with most things, the right tool for the right job....

Steve

Higher-end users: KA large 21 Seb, large 21 Micarta Insingo, Wilson Combat Eagle, Shirogorov 95T, Hinderer XM18 Spanto.
Beaters: Tenacious, RAT1, Buck Adrenalin (busted off twice and re-ground), with a large combo-edge Grip somewhere in between.
 
Hey!!! What's wrong with Refrig techs???
:mad::mad:
In a bagel store at the moment, working on a dough retarder......hate that smell in those walk ins! Just nasty!
Joe
 
Last edited:
I spent 25 years in commercial/industrial HVACR service and never used a knife. I had a utility knife in my pouch. When I read about people cutting nylon wire ties with a pocket knife it makes me cringe. Inefficient and potentially dangerous . 460 volts 4 inches from that knife- no thanks. Same with stripping insulation from wires to make connections; nick that copper and you just derated the wire.
 
I am fairly certain the OP understands that nothing outside of a utility knife is needed to perform the duties of what a sharpened edge can offer and that purpose-specific tools are best suited for purpose-specific situations. I certainly am not job dependant upon the blades that I carry, but they do contribute to making work more interesting in that I can use the jobsite as a means to field test different steels, grinds and scale materials within the confines of my responsibilities.
 
I'm an apprentice in the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Local 157. About 75% of the time I work with a HVAC tech, if not its plumbing/mechanical service or the occasional shutdown.

Most guys carry junk dull knives. One guy I work with has a Griptilian, and he abuses that thing like you wouldn't believe. I need to take some pictures of it and post them , it would blow most people's minds on here LOL. But it serves him well.

I carry a Ritter grip or PM2 mainly. Everything is great until a journeyman asks to borrow it....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top