Disposal Box cutter...don't

[FortyTwoBlades]

Still using the first side of the original blade that came with this box cutter I've been using for years.

 

[Reallybigmonkey1]

This is a new tip for me, great idea!

 

[sodak]

I use a DMT DiaFold (usually a Fine 600) to resharpen utility blades. I have a whole bunch of replacement blades on hand. But I may never use them all, simply because I keep resharpening the one in the handle. I don't often use the utility knife anyway, as most of the box-cutting I do is with the sheepfoot blade in my Case 6375 CV stockman. VERY thin grind on that blade, and I've thinned the edge even more. I've become spoiled for using that blade on cardboard.

Interesting. All the reviews and expert opinions of a stockman that I've read seem to say that the sheepsfoot is for the hard cutting, and saves the pen knife blade for fine cutting. I'm just the opposite with the sheepsfoot. I thin mine out as well, and use it for the fine cutting, I think it's the most precise and easy to handle of the three.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Interesting. All the reviews and expert opinions of a stockman that I've read seem to say that the sheepsfoot is for the hard cutting, and saves the pen knife blade for fine cutting. I'm just the opposite with the sheepsfoot. I thin mine out as well, and use it for the fine cutting, I think it's the most precise and easy to handle of the three.

I use the sheepfoot probably 90% of the time, over the other two blades in my '75 stockman. Mostly for cardboard & package-opening tasks. And in some of the hobby woodworking stuff I do, it's a great scribe line marker and fine-tip 'scalpel' for trimming the visible ends of double-stick tape I sometimes use to hold pieces together for precise cutting alignment and screwing down. AND, the thin & pointy tip does a great job lifting the cut ends of the tape for removal, which is otherwise tedious trying to do with the fingernails. Works beautifully for that.

 

[garry3]

I've found I get the most aggressive slicing edges on my box cutter blades by touching them up on an American Mutt bench stone or pocket stone. A quick scrubbing action on both sides gets a worn blade back in action in a matter of seconds, and takes less time than swapping it out for a fresh blade in most cases, even with models that make blade exchanging quite rapid.

Yep, time is money. I was schooled years ago by an old drywaller that straightened me out when I needed to change my blade. Sharpen both ends of your carpenters pencil etc....

 

[scdub]

Utility razors and Xacto knife blades are both very easy to sharpen because they’re so thin/acute, and that makes them EXCELLENT for learning/teaching sharpening. I got a box of 24 carbon steel box cutters (just before Covid ) to do a sharpening class at my workplace. Still waiting to re-schedule, and when I do the plan is to suggest students buy an American Mutt from Benjamin to bring to the class. As he said, that stone will literally sharpen a utility blade in seconds…

 

[StrayRound]

I use a Stanley boxcutter for a lot of carving. I maintain the edge with a tad of Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish on cereal box type cardboard on a
flat surface.

Simple, quick and cheap.

 

[drail]

The back of a legal pad also makes VERY good stropping material. Simple, quick and cheap IS GOOD!!! I had guys laughing at me for years upon seeing me sharpen utility knife blades - until I told them to cut a piece of drywall after honing an old blade. SHAZAM!

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

My utility knives get used on the really brutal stuff, like cutting out old carpet & padding overlaying a concrete slab. Both the mesh backing on the carpet and the concrete (obviously) are really tough on edges and blade tips. I wouldn't subject my beloved traditional sheepsfoot blade to that abuse. I did use the serrated blade on a Leatherman multi-tool once, for this task, before knowing the full extent of damage the carpet backing and the concrete would do. It did an admirable job, but I had to do some edge & tip repair afterward.

Now, after brutalizing the edge & tips on the utility blades, that's still excellent practice at edge and tip repair sharpening. So, I still do that.

 

[drail]

Cutting old dirty carpet? Now that will take an edge off pretty quickly.

 

[Alberta Ed]

Back in the Dark Ages when I was in the newspaper biz, we would lay out the paper using X-Actos to cut the waxed printed columns into strips and stick them down (this was a long ways back). I tried sharpening the X-Actos one time, when one of the composing staff mentioned they liked them dull and the first thing they would do with a new blade was to take the edge off by rubbing it on the Plexiglass cutting board. Sigh.

 

[Luke Dupont]

I'm a fan of Paul Sellers as well. He also got me to sharpen utilitiy knives.
Strangely enough, most of them don't need anything special and can be sharpened on regular stones I think... I haven't used them in a while though, as I've replaced them with a kiridashi for the most part.

 

[FK]

I also use a DMT Diafold to refresh standard blade box cutters.

Especially like the old time Stanley classic 199 fixed blade utility knife,,,,, the two halves use a screw for assembly for a solid feeling handle.

In additon, really like the steel in Olfa Utility knives from Japan.

Regards,
FK

 

[kreisler]

this looks interesting enough:
automatic utility blade grinder

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

this looks interesting enough:
automatic utility blade grinder

It even flips the blade automatically to sharpen both sides. That's pretty cool.

 

[killgar]

I always re-sharpen my utility razor/box cutter blades. Partly because I'm cheap, but mostly because the idea of throwing away a blade just because it gets dull just seems wrong to me. Sharpening is easy, and the simple fact is, swiping the edge across a hone a few times is faster and less trouble than unscrewing the knife and replacing the blade.

I'll sharpen and use a blade until the edge has been ground well below the blades original width. Usually it's a broken tip that finally prompts me to replace a blade, or just turn it around and start using the opposite end.

 

[Another Shepherd]

My father used a safety razor with double edge blades every day for many decades. He had a sharpener that I remember as a sort of oval box with a hinged lid. He would put a blade in the sharpener, turn a crank a certain number of times, and the blade would be a sharp as new. He would sharpen a blade five times before putting it in the slot in the back of the medicine cabinet.

I do not have a utility knife, but my wife does. The blade does not get dull so much as it accumulates adhesive from opening ebay parcels wrapped in a dozen layers of tape. I clean the adhesive off from time to time using alcohol wipes or sometimes Goo Gone. I think she is still on the first blade (SK-5) after using it for about six months. I should check whether it needs sharpening. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[catspa]

I’m with Benjamin, except I use a little no name medium carborundum that lives in my tool belt.

Like Garry and drail said, drywall dulls ‘em, few strokes brings ‘em back.

Parker