Recommendation? Work knife

I've worked some construction, sheetrocking and painting jobs in my day and nothing beats a good old Stanley Utility Knife. The blade is razor sharp, slides in and out for use and you can change out blades in seconds. Why beat up a good pocket knife?
 
Grip. They just plain work.

Might sound cliche' nowadays with every other bloke telling us to "Get a Grip", but it's still sound advice in the knife genre'.

I like the modified sheepsfoot configuration, but that's me.
 
I had an axis lock on a Benchmade fail, sort of... it didn't really fail, but it loaded with pocket lint, sawdust, and other job site debris without me noticing it. I never confuse any folder for being a fixed blade, so when it didn't lock properly it simply slipped out of the "locked" position. Put the high pressure nozzle on the compressor, blew it out and was back in business. Since from time to time it rode around in my tool bags with all the dirt and crap at the bottom of them, I found out I needed to do that a couple of times a year. No big deal. Routine tool maintenance.

Then I found Cold Steel at the urging of a member here a few years ago. Bought the American Lawman, which is an excellent work knife. Then on to the Ultimate Hunter, and about 18 months ago, the Bush Ranger. All are excellent work knives with good ergos, great steel, bullet proof locking mechanism, and all tested and used by me on the job. And hunting, hiking and camping.

To stay within the budget, you can get the first CS I started with, the American Lawman. S35 steel, G10 handle, great ergos. Found everywhere under $100. BTW, I bought that same RAT 1 when it came out and absolutely loved it. What a great work knife! Plenty of handle, works well in the hand for hard cutting, and still locks up tight. Like you, I finally just got tired of needing a swipe or two on the rods nearly every day to keep the edge up. Still have it though, and sometimes I carry it. With it being an inexpensive knife it got every nasty job I could toss at it for nearly three years as I carried it almost exclusively. The handle is smooth now with no sign of grip and the blade pretty scratched up. But still locks up tight and is ready to go.

Robert
 
NMpops said:
I've worked some construction, sheetrocking and painting jobs in my day and nothing beats a good old Stanley Utility Knife. The blade is razor sharp, slides in and out for use and you can change out blades in seconds. Why beat up a good pocket knife?
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Yeah this has been my experience in construction too. You could go insane sharpening your knife each day or just put a new blade in it. I like a modern folder in the pocket for general EDC tasks but for construction the utility blade gets the mileage.
 
Owen K. said:
Yeah this has been my experience in construction too. You could go insane sharpening your knife each day or just put a new blade in it. I like a modern folder in the pocket for general EDC tasks but for construction the utility blade gets the mileage.
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You bet. No way I would put a knife though a day of cutting insulation, shingles, scoring panels, etc., when I can use a utility knife. They make some great ones now that really let you get leverage on your cuts, all the way down to the tiny folders guys around here like.

They are cheap, reliable, and that's what they are made for. OTOH, there are times when your knife is the best choice for a job.

Robert
 
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