Traditionals in the Trades?

K Williams · Oct 27, 2012

Union Structural Ironworker. Buck 110 on my tool belt. Non-traditional Spyderco FRN FFG Endura in my front pocket.

K Williams · Oct 27, 2012

+1. Very annoying when that happens.

waynorth · Oct 27, 2012

jackknife said:
Yeah, they may be the box cutters of the day. As knife knuts, we forget that most of the rest of the world gets their cutting done by some pretty mundane cutting tools. The working man, the peasant of any age, won't spend a lot of money on a knife. All they want to do is cut something. The peasant in China, eastern Europe, the American west, the big city dock worker or warehouse worker, all will use a cheap but serviceable knife. The humble sodbuster, the Opinel and Douk-Douk, the Barlow, friction folder sheppards knife, were the superknife of the day. They were expected to be just used up and replaced with no sentiment attached to them. To the peasant, it's just a cheap tool. Only us mutants, the obsessed knife knut, will put value on a knife beyond what it is designed to do.

Carl.

Wonderfully true, and well said Carl. These attitudes apply today, I am sure.
However take a few steps back in time: and there was a time when a crude/simple knife was very valuable, however mundane its usage. And early humans were proud of a well crafted knife that may have given some assurance to survival. Often these knives were decorated, and given spiritual attributes. These attitudes don't dissappear, however far they are pushed into our subconscious, IMO.

aadhtbb · Oct 27, 2012

Did you modify the SAK ? Because it looks like a "Farmer" however not . Also there is no pattern has both big and small blade with alox handle I know.

Groove said:
I've really tried to use my traditional knives at work with limited success. I'm a jet engine mechanic working in a test run facility which leaves my hands in a perpetual state of grunge. Subjecting my beautiful bone and stag handled knives to jet fuel, oil, and various other solvents doesn't work for me. I've used my GEC Bullnose quite a bit and I love it, but I frequently find myself needing a small blade, or a screwdriver (while I'm up on a ladder), or a scraper/poker/jabbermajig. My solution is the ALOX SAK! It just makes sense for me, and believe it or not the saw gets used when I'm rebuilding test equipment.

Bad Monkey · Oct 27, 2012

Carrying a knife seems, to me at least, a rare thing here in the uk. I've only ever known two people, other than myself, that regularly carry a knife.

My father, a retired electrician, carried an equal end two blade pen knife for the first half of his career before changing to a lambsfoot.

My father in law, a gamekeeper, carries a hawkbill. It seems a strange choice to me but it works for him.

Myself, a mechanic, i carry a mini trapper and use it regularly at work. Non of my colleagues carry a knife, though most have some sort of cheap box cutter/utility knife in their tool box's.

rockgolfer · Oct 27, 2012

I have been sliding back more to a sheetrock/utility knife with my new job. All the traditional knives I own are just not good at cutting sheet rock. Anyone have any recommendations? The thinnest blade I have used is the coping secondary blade on my #66 calf roper. Any knife I own scores the sheetrock and allows me to snap it easily, I just can not get it to plunge through and slice the paper very well on my second pass to finish the job. The utility knife does this task very easily with just the two cuts. I can sharpen my blades to just shy of hair popping sharp. I can use them to scroll cut through receipt paper with ease so I do not think it is the sharpness or edge on the blade. I have been leaning more towards trying a congress with what appears to be thinner coping blades then the 66. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly welcomed, thanks.

richstag · Oct 27, 2012

rockgolfer said:
I have been sliding back more to a sheetrock/utility knife with my new job. All the traditional knives I own are just not good at cutting sheet rock. Anyone have any recommendations? The thinnest blade I have used is the coping secondary blade on my #66 calf roper. Any knife I own scores the sheetrock and allows me to snap it easily, I just can not get it to plunge through and slice the paper very well on my second pass to finish the job. The utility knife does this task very easily with just the two cuts. I can sharpen my blades to just shy of hair popping sharp. I can use them to scroll cut through receipt paper with ease so I do not think it is the sharpness or edge on the blade. I have been leaning more towards trying a congress with what appears to be thinner coping blades then the 66. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly welcomed, thanks.

Hey Jeff,

I found a utility knife has a lot of value and advantages over normal EDC knives in certain applications.

YMMV

Kevin

rockgolfer · Oct 27, 2012

I know your right Kevin. I guess part of me is hoping something exists for my needs. I have some things I want to try before I give in to the utility knife for work carry. I refuse to carry two cutting implements every day. I hate having a bunch of stuff in my pockets, I can be a little ocd about it. If manufacturers listed approximate blade stock it would make it easier to decide what blade to try next.

richstag · Oct 27, 2012

Jeff,

Just for you my friend, a few cell pics I just took.

rockgolfer · Oct 27, 2012

You know Kevin, the courthouse whittler was one of the first to come to mind of a GEC with a thin edge. Those look mighty thin, thanks for the pic bro, care to test it on some sheetrock? lol

Not like I am asking you to baton the edge with an axe

richstag · Oct 27, 2012

HAHA, nope, I would not want to trash that pretty whittler in any of the jobs I use utility blades for

rockgolfer · Oct 27, 2012

If you had to guess, how thick are those two blades on the spine compaired to the utility blade(i.e. two blade thickness's etc.)? I am starting to think that the overall thickness is what keeps it from getting through. I can see how the geometry of the CHW's blades are much shorter in height to my #66's blades.

richstag · Oct 27, 2012

Jeff, I don't have my micrometer or veiner calipers, but here is another cell pic

The main blade is heavily swedged with a very thick spine at the tang.

Kevin

rockgolfer · Oct 27, 2012

That coping looks to be about the same size? Is it distal tapered to the tip? Might be just what I am looking for. Do you think that blade on that knife would hold up to sheet rock cutting? I maybe cut up two or three full sheets a day for repairs, it is not an all day task for me.

Awesome pics Kev, much appreciated :thumbup:

richstag · Oct 27, 2012

It tapers slightly. Personally, I always went with the disposable razor blades. I have done sheet rock work and know how quickly that dulls a blade. I used mine mainly for wires and cables. Think anywhere from very thin wire, utilizing the tip to cut a line for stripping and then all the way up to setting up megawatt generators. My blades got chips, breaks etc. While we did have specific tools for the work, sometimes out in the field the knives would be used in a pinch, and sometimes after practice they are just as effective.

I think you would be sharpening that little blade often, minimizing the life expectancy. I also believe the whittler knives may be higher hardness. Just from honing my whittlers my arkansas stones cut into them less effectively. Nothing scientific there, but I would be afraid of the blade snapping under stress.

Hope this helps. BTW, the whittler is a very sweet knife. Nice size in hand and very impressive build quality slit spring.

Kevin

midnight flyer · Oct 28, 2012

rockgolfer said:
I have been sliding back more to a sheetrock/utility knife with my new job. All the traditional knives I own are just not good at cutting sheet rock. Anyone have any recommendations? The thinnest blade I have used is the coping secondary blade on my #66 calf roper. Any knife I own scores the sheetrock and allows me to snap it easily, I just can not get it to plunge through and slice the paper very well on my second pass to finish the job. The utility knife does this task very easily with just the two cuts. I can sharpen my blades to just shy of hair popping sharp.

The blade geometry and thinness of a utility knife blade will out cut a pocket knife all day long when cutting a lot of materials, not to mention being easier on the hands. I keep three or four utility knives in the truck so I will always have one or two handy and one for my tool bags.

There is no reason to tear up a good knife cutting that gritty, caustic material. You will ruin a good knife in no time cutting sheetrock, not to mention the frequent sharpenings needed during the day. Worse, when you cut it, you will get that fine lime/sheetrock dust in the knife and on the blade, and while working it will mix with sweat and rust your knife before the day is out. It will absolutely ruin the walk and talk.

I know that there are many here that would advise wiping down the knife with some kind of rust preventative, including a sweaty pant leg after every use, but when you are making a couple of hundred cuts or more a day that just isn't practical to me.

Besides, a good utility knife is less than $10 and usually has a few blades with it. Why would you take a nice knife to the job to use it for something it won't do well when the purpose designed alternative is so cheap? Buy the utility knife and a package of blades and you will always have an easy razor sharp edge as needed.

I use a pocket knife to trim a piece of sheetrock if I am without a utility knife. But if I am hanging rock for the day I will buy a new knife and blades for it before a start.

Robert

pinnah · Oct 28, 2012

rockgolfer said:
I have been sliding back more to a sheetrock/utility knife with my new job. All the traditional knives I own are just not good at cutting sheet rock. Anyone have any recommendations? The thinnest blade I have used is the coping secondary blade on my #66 calf roper. Any knife I own scores the sheetrock and allows me to snap it easily, I just can not get it to plunge through and slice the paper very well on my second pass to finish the job. The utility knife does this task very easily with just the two cuts. I can sharpen my blades to just shy of hair popping sharp. I can use them to scroll cut through receipt paper with ease so I do not think it is the sharpness or edge on the blade. I have been leaning more towards trying a congress with what appears to be thinner coping blades then the 66. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly welcomed, thanks.

Jeff, I would recommend spending $15 on an Opinel #8. Actually, spend $30 and get 2. The #9s and #10s have thicker blades. The #7s and #6s have smaller handles.

On the first, put the blade in a vice and use a file to work the blade to a sheep foot or wharcliff. This will shorten the blade and leave you with more handle than blade, which I think is an advantage for what you want to do.

Next, practice one hand opening and closing the Opinel while driving or watching the TV. Pinch the blade (or knock the butt end of the handle on your thigh) and while holding the blade, use your thigh to hook open the handle. Lots of threads on tuning the joint and lock.

Finally, spend the winter months refinishing the handle on that 2nd Opinel. My hunch is that once you spend some time trying to break the first one at work, the Opinel will earn a spot in your EDC rotation.

skyhorse · Oct 28, 2012

rockgolfer said:
You know Kevin, the courthouse whittler was one of the first to come to mind of a GEC with a thin edge. Those look mighty thin, thanks for the pic bro, care to test it on some sheetrock? lol Not like I am asking you to baton the edge with an axe

I used this Buck 301 on sheetrock and although not the proper tool for the job, it worked.

rockgolfer · Oct 28, 2012

midnight flyer said:
The blade geometry and thinness of a utility knife blade will out cut a pocket knife all day long when cutting a lot of materials, not to mention being easier on the hands. I keep three or four utility knives in the truck so I will always have one or two handy and one for my tool bags.

There is no reason to tear up a good knife cutting that gritty, caustic material. You will ruin a good knife in no time cutting sheetrock, not to mention the frequent sharpenings needed during the day. Worse, when you cut it, you will get that fine lime/sheetrock dust in the knife and on the blade, and while working it will mix with sweat and rust your knife before the day is out. It will absolutely ruin the walk and talk.

I know that there are many here that would advise wiping down the knife with some kind of rust preventative, including a sweaty pant leg after every use, but when you are making a couple of hundred cuts or more a day that just isn't practical to me.

Besides, a good utility knife is less than $10 and usually has a few blades with it. Why would you take a nice knife to the job to use it for something it won't do well when the purpose designed alternative is so cheap? Buy the utility knife and a package of blades and you will always have an easy razor sharp edge as needed.

I use a pocket knife to trim a piece of sheetrock if I am without a utility knife. But if I am hanging rock for the day I will buy a new knife and blades for it before a start.

Robert

Robert, very solid advice indeed. I own probably 10 or so utility knives in several brands and shapes. Being a "knife nut" it is more of an experiment in my stubbornness to find a knife capable of this then to just fall back on the old reliable utility blade.

I remodel bathrooms right now, I do not hang sheet rock for a living. I usually have to take a sheet or two and make a few panels or filler pieces. Four sheets is the most I have used in one day and I guess im looking for a traditional that can handle that one task of my day. I have no other hangups and my pocket knives handle every other aspect of my day and do cut the sheetrock now, just not efficiently or cleanly.

Pinnah, I have a number 8 that I recieved in that great mystery box giveaway by Stich2442. I just gave it another look and you are onto something here. That blade is thin and uniform and the sheepsfoot mod would be a great improvement for most of my uses. I will have to overcome another stigma of mine, traditionals should be multi bladed. This is purely my opinion but if I am going to carry a single blade then it might as well be easy open and lock/unlock with one hand. Of course you have me intrigued with your one hand training of the opinel. I do need to shape the handle a bit and carving an easy open notch would improve the one handed action greatly. Thanks for the ideas they are much appreciated.

Nice pics Skyhorse. Did you use the clip blade? I have found the sheepsfoot a better edge so far for this task, cuts deeper, easier then the belly on the clip.

rockgolfer · Oct 28, 2012

Midnight Flyer also points out how aggressive this medium is at dulling a blade. This is another reason I am looking more for a multi-blade knife so that I can leave one dedicated to this task. I only want to carry one cutting tool every day. If I end up having to hang a sheetrock knife or something in the work trailer just for this task then I may just have to do that. I prefer simple and streamlined throughout my life. I would rather sharpen or strop a blade once a day or every few days then have to constantly be buying replacement blades. I guess sustainability is top on my list over convenience these days.