Premium box cutter blades?

dkb45

dkb45

Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
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We are all knife nuts here, and we all know box cutters. Blades made to take a beating but don't really hold an edge. Some have fancy treatment processes to increase the edge retention but they still don't hold an edge very well, you just toss the blade out when it dulls (or force it through what you cut using the super thin stock to do the work). That lead me to wonder if there were box cutter blades made of steels that get our blood pumping, stuff like tool steels or alloy carbon steels?

I think it would be really cool to have a box cutter with a steel I both know and like, one that I know I can beat the tar out of. Does it exist, though?
 
I did one of my cut tests with one of the standard box cutter blade. It was a craftsman branded one, made in USA, the kind that you get 100 for around $10. The thing wouldn't stop cutting the rope. It took up a whole 50 foot roll of sisal rope and then i stopped the test because i was annoyed it was ruining my cutting board. That is over 500 cuts. I never posted the video.
 
I used to use the Lenox until they moved production to Mexico. I kept buying them for a bit but the quality really changed when the production moved and I didn't think they kept an edge as well.
Now I'm using the Dewalt "Carbide" blades and they seem to hold up quite well and are made in USA.

I'm not sure what steel they're made of but I can strop and sharpen them back to useable easily enough when I don't have a refill handy and they cut quite well until you manage to chip the edge away.

I hear good things about Tajima as well but haven't tried them yet.

I really wish Olfa would make standard utility blades. Their blades are probably the best I've used and have completely replaced X-acto when I need file, detail cutting.
 
How do you guy`s make the old blades safe when you come to replace them as just throwing them in the trash is a bit dangerous.
 
Odog27 said:
Tajima V-Rex II. The Lennox blades with the gold coating are good too.
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Ok, so the knife board has me buying utility knives now. What's next, butter knives, lettuce knives; air knives?
But yeah, I ordered a pack of the VREX II.
I ... had to?
 
PoorUserName said:
How do you guy`s make the old blades safe when you come to replace them as just throwing them in the trash is a bit dangerous.
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I either tape it down to a piece of cardboard and wrap it and tape again or keep a dedicated sharps container to toss the old ones into so it can be recycled once full.
 
I have an old 100 pack of Lennox blades I'm still going through, still going through because they hold an edge well.
Anyone ever tried the ceramic blades ?
 
I have never seen steel rust faster than the cheap version of these, Would make a great cheap steel to test rust prevention applications on, If you can stop rust on these, It will work on any steel.
 
I just touch up the blade in the knife on a stone like any other knife - just 2 or 3 strokes on a medium stone will make it cut like a new blade. By doing that I have gotten them to last for a very long time. I really cannot remember the last time I bought a pack of blades. To me tossing the blade just because it became dull would be like tossing your pocketknife when it gets dull. Boxcutters are basically made for people who don't have time to sharpen a blade - or don't know how (which is by far the majority of the people who buy boxcutters). Boxcutters fit perfectly into the whole "everything is disposable" like of thinking that is prominent today. IMO. I keep a boxcutter on the kitchen counter just to open boxes and cut nasty packing tape.
 
haha, drail makes a good point. I too have thought about sharpening these little guys just for the heck of it. But..the thing is, one's time sharpening is probably worth more than the cost of a single blade.
 
I suppose it all depends on how much 60 seconds of your time is worth. About the only time I will toss a blade is when it accumulates so much adhesive that it won't cut (or slide) anymore. I could easily dissolve that goo with some naptha but then I have to go find some out in the garage and then put it away and throw the paper towel I used in the garage trash because of the fumes. But if you're not cutting lots of tape the standard blades are easily touched up.
 
you know, i could see keeping mine and sharpening them if they stop making them in the USA. Then i would want to keep them because i trust our steel production and manufacture here more than most countries.
 
microtech85 said:
haha, drail makes a good point. I too have thought about sharpening these little guys just for the heck of it. But..the thing is, one's time sharpening is probably worth more than the cost of a single blade.
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I've found that an edge off my American Mutt stones is not only extremely rapid to apply (as the stones are ultra-coarse) but that they are obscenely aggressive at cutting cardboard and paper. Takes me less time to sharpen it than it does to change the blade.
 
thats cool that you can sharpen that fast. If i had a pocket norton stone with me when i was using the blade, then i could see how it could be faster to sharpen. But i consider the time it takes to get the stone and set it up too.
 
Keep a pocket stone in your truck or tool box. I keep a boxcutter in the kitchen drawer and there is a stone in that drawer for touching up all of the knives in the kitchen. 30 seconds or less on a medium/coarse stone will make your boxcutter rip through cardboard again. A "toothy" edge works the best ( LOL,"obscenely aggressive" - I'm stealin' that one)
 
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