What's with EDC and boxes?

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Jan 13, 2016
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Majority of reviews I've watched about folders always mention that knife is good for cutting open boxes. I mean do most knife nuts really have jobs that involve cutting boxes. It sounds a bit of a cliche to me. I use my EDC to splice wires and to cut paper which is why I carry cheap folders. Let me know what you guys think.
 
Yup. Turning large cardboard boxes into small, manageable bits of cardboard is what most of my cutting consists of. After that it goes to opening packages, cutting straps, plastic wrap, trimming threads, etc. I've never actually used my EDC to splice wire, to be honest, but if I did that regularly I'm willing to bet it would have a pretty profound impact on what I carried as well.
 
I don't have a job requiring it so I don't really do it for extended periods of time but I still use my knives for that quite a bit. Either cutting up cardboard boxes to put in the garbage or just to open a box of food.
 
^^^^
Same here.

Plus, if you are constantly purchasing new knives like you should, they arrive in boxes that have to get flattened somehow for the garbage. Vivisecting them with a knife is funner then stomping them with your foot.

The guys over at shoeforum.org are serious about their box stomping. But over here at BF, we are cutters.
 
Urban Cowboys

I would sooner grab a piece of wood, but that's just me I find pleasure making something and/or refining skills and testing edges that I work to improve.

different strokes ... (when I cut cardboard, I typically use a box cutter)
 
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I cut the tape, but generally avoid cutting cardboard when I can help it. Too abrasive. If I've got to do it, though, it needs to be done...
 
I love these threads. You always get the "you're not a real knife user(/man;)) unless you do the same thing with the knife that I do." Always funny.

To answer the question, yes. I work in shipping and receiving. Lots O boxes. :)
 
I strip wires and open boxes with my EDC, also sharpen pencils, and do any other knife related task needed. Not a big fan of the tape residue opening boxes leaves on the blade though...
 
I strip wires and open boxes with my EDC, also sharpen pencils, and do any other knife related task needed. Not a big fan of the tape residue opening boxes leaves on the blade though...

Me neither. I think of it the same way I think of mustard or icing or peanut butter or whatever else would be on my knife. Just what's gonna happen, so I had better get used to cleaning it.
 
I strip wires and open boxes with my EDC, also sharpen pencils, and do any other knife related task needed. Not a big fan of the tape residue opening boxes leaves on the blade though...

Haha, just experienced this the other day, I thought I was the only one who actually was somewhat disgruntled at the residue. I don't mind cutting cardboard, paper, anything really. But the tape residue....
 
Tape residue is the worst, luckily wd-40 takes it right off.
I use my knife to cut plastic sheeting all day long at work, and cardboard (trimming down to size) a few times a day.

As for what is with edc and boxes, I think for many, especially those in desk jobs, boxes are the one excuse people have to use their knives regularly.
 
Yes, my job involves quite a few cardboard boxes that need to be broken down for disposal. Cutting the tape and folding the boxes works in some instances, but in others it really helps to actually cut the boxes into smaller flat pieces. :thumbup:
 
Before I started selling knives I had never worked or owned a business that shipped or received a lot of boxes. I still loved my knives but used them for more of the task the OP is talking about. I still usually carried a pretty nice knife (zt or CRK). Now that I am shipping and receiving knives all day long I realize how much box breakdown and tape cutting people in the retail industry do. We are small company for even the knife industry, so I can not imagine what big knife shops do in a single day. Much less furniture stores, car parts places, clothing stores, grocery stores etc.....
 
Majority of reviews I've watched about folders always mention that knife is good for cutting open boxes. I mean do most knife nuts really have jobs that involve cutting boxes. It sounds a bit of a cliche to me. I use my EDC to splice wires and to cut paper which is why I carry cheap folders. Let me know what you guys think.
Cutting open boxes does not automatically imply that one has a job that requires cutting open boxes. The need to cut open a cardboard box, whether for ones work, or at home, is a common "knife task", and therefore it's a common reference point when discussing sharpness, edge retention, and edge geometry.

If skinning dear was a more common "knife task" than cutting boxes, then people would talk about how well a knife will skin dear. But as it is, far more people need to cut open cardboard boxes than need to skin dear.

I occasionally need to cut open a box for work, but I order a lot of stuff over the internet (love my Amazon Prime ;)), and the boxes can pile up fast. But I prefer the super-thin blade of a box cutter over my knives for cutting cardboard.
 
When I ship a sword off the first thing the recipient usually does is chop the box up. :D It's even better if the blade will fit into a cardboard shipping tube!
 
Before I started selling knives I had never worked or owned a business that shipped or received a lot of boxes. I still loved my knives but used them for more of the task the OP is talking about. I still usually carried a pretty nice knife (zt or CRK). Now that I am shipping and receiving knives all day long I realize how much box breakdown and tape cutting people in the retail industry do. We are small company for even the knife industry, so I can not imagine what big knife shops do in a single day. Much less furniture stores, car parts places, clothing stores, grocery stores etc.....

I've broken down > 100 boxes in a day before.
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I use my knives for anything and everything. Bottle opener, food, boxes, trimming bushes/shrubs, garden work, unwrapping pallets, etc., etc.. I was scraping tape off a mirror with my PM2 yesterday. Basically there's always a knife in my pocket, so I will try to use that before I go find a different tool.
 
^^^ From your description, I'm surprised all of the knives in that photo still have tips on them. Only kidding ;)
 
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