# Work knives...



## kevmanTA (Jul 20, 2010)

I have always carried a knife on my belt, since day one... 
I currently use a Leatherman Wave, but the last year, it seems I'm stripping Tech Cable insulation about 3-4 days out of the week, and the blade can't handle running against the aluminum armor before it dulls right out..


What do you guys carry on your belts? I can't stand those razor knives, I was thinking something like a Buck 102.. It's not too big, comes with a belt sheath, and it's stainless.. Any opinions?
http://www.buckknives.com/index.cfm?event=product.detail&productid=3037


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

My best friend, always oh my hip.


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

electricmanscott said:


> My best friend, always oh my hip.


Same here i that with me all the time..:thumbsup:


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

electricmanscott said:


> My best friend, always oh my hip.


Yep, I love that knife too...when I worked in telecom that knife and our scissors were our most used tools. I usually carry an Olfa knife too


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## Mike in Canada (Jun 27, 2010)

kevmanTA said:


> I'm stripping Tech Cable insulation about 3-4 days out of the week, and the blade can't handle running against the aluminum armor before it dulls right out..


I carry one of these:








I consider this knife to be THE BEST for stripping teck cable because you can run the knife flat with the hook pointing into the cut and the knife will glide through the outer sheath without having to score the aluminum. No, you can't sharpen it on a normal stone. I use a 'Chestnut Sharpener' from Lee Valley Tools, but anything along those lines, such as Klein's own 48036, will do the job.

It's a lightweight knife, too. Very nice. Mine has been beaten to death. Lost... found... beaten some more... Flips open with one hand, and does the job. I've done a full day of teck-stripping without having to sharpen it, and that day probably amounted to around 80 feet total of 350mcm/kcmil cable stripped for landing into a switchgear.

That having been said, I try to avoid stripping small teck... I ring the sheath then use the roto-splitter right through the sheath *below* that point so that when I pull the extra off it 'automatically' strips the extra inch for the fitting. Works wonderfully. Big stuff, of course, you have to strip manually. That same day mentioned above (stripping 80 feet of 350mcm) I had to prep 72 tech cable ends to go from a panel to a disconnect (18 disconnects) then from the disconnect to the motor. The panel-to-disconnect ones were stripped about 18" at each end, but I used the roto-slicer so I was able to do them all without having to actually strip one cable by hand.


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## kevmanTA (Jul 20, 2010)

Mike in Canada said:


> I carry one of these:
> I consider this knife to be THE BEST for stripping teck cable because you can run the knife flat with the hook pointing into the cut and the knife will glide through the outer sheath without having to score the aluminum. No, you can't sharpen it on a normal stone. I use a 'Chestnut Sharpener' from Lee Valley Tools, but anything along those lines, such as Klein's own 48036, will do the job.
> 
> It's a lightweight knife, too. Very nice. Mine has been beaten to death. Lost... found... beaten some more... Flips open with one hand, and does the job. I've done a full day of teck-stripping without having to sharpen it, and that day probably amounted to around 80 feet total of 350mcm/kcmil cable stripped for landing into a switchgear.
> ...


I've got an old linesman knife from the 80's that I inherited, same sheepsfoot style with the red plastic handle. Works good, but it is a bugger to sharpen!


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## 76nemo (Aug 13, 2008)

Two in the pouch:

Gerber Gator












and a Stanley 10-049(w/replaceable blades)


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

I used to carry one of those linesmans knives....but I have used that Klein cable splicers knife on some pretty large cable and wire, and it works well all around. It sharpens up well with a good kitchen steel or diamond hone.


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## JTMEYER (May 2, 2009)

I have the klien hawkbill knife and used it religiously till I bought a Benchmade 940. It isn't specifically designed for electrical work, but the quality, ease of sharpening, ungodly edge holding, and supper easy one handed open and close, I love it. although they are a bit pricey.
http://www.benchmade.com/products/940


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

I like knives with a replaceable razor blade and have a clip on them. Curretly using a Kobalt one. Last one I had was a Erwin, got good service out of it but couldn't find another one. Like to be able to clip on to the front of my bibs or onto a belt.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Stanley 99 in the pouch, and a folding Sheffield knife that uses the Stanley blades too. I am a simple man, but mostly I object to having to sharpen a knife.


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## Ninety (Jan 7, 2011)

I have a Leatherman juice on my hip, and a razor and splicer knife in the box. I used to keep the linesman knife but it seldom got used so I put it away, somewhere, haven't seen it for awhile to be honest.


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## Chris Kennedy (Nov 19, 2007)

Benchmades here.


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## ibuzzard (Dec 28, 2008)

How many of you work for shops that won't allow the use of knives - period?I thought it a joke when told this by a contractor 3 years ago, but the trend is continuing, and driven by insurance companies.My oldest son,a 3rd year apprentice, is at a shop that disallows knives and saws-alls.They have markedly fewer workman's comp claims, and are one of the top contractors in the country, accident-wise (dollar-wise,also) ,and that fact alone has firms begging them to bid on projects.I dunno, I'm a safety-oriented guy, but no knives and saw-alls? Weird.


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## JTMEYER (May 2, 2009)

I'm sporting a nice hole in my finger this week from getting it caught between a peice of emt and the shoe on my sawzall. I love how it smashes/pinches you 500 times before you can get your finger off the trigger.


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## Demac (Apr 28, 2010)

ibuzzard said:


> How many of you work for shops that won't allow the use of knives - period?I thought it a joke when told this by a contractor 3 years ago, but the trend is continuing, and driven by insurance companies.My oldest son,a 3rd year apprentice, is at a shop that disallows knives and saws-alls.They have markedly fewer workman's comp claims, and are one of the top contractors in the country, accident-wise (dollar-wise,also) ,and that fact alone has firms begging them to bid on projects.I dunno, I'm a safety-oriented guy, but no knives and saw-alls? Weird.


The growing trend to protect you from yourself.


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## davis9 (Mar 21, 2009)

JTMEYER said:


> I'm sporting a nice hole in my finger this week from getting it caught between a peice of emt and the shoe on my sawzall. I love how it smashes/pinches you 500 times before you can get your finger off the trigger.



Happened recently to me as well. Nuts.

Tom


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## JTMEYER (May 2, 2009)

I worked for a place that banned all utility knives except for those made by OLFA. You have to hold the spring loaded blade out with your thumb, and it automatically retracts when you let off. It lasted a few months before they came to their senses.


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## wsntme (Feb 23, 2011)

JTMEYER said:


> I'm sporting a nice hole in my finger this week from getting it caught between a peice of emt and the shoe on my sawzall. I love how it smashes/pinches you 500 times before you can get your finger off the trigger.


Just one of the reasons I LOVE my Panasonic EY4542


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## sparkymcwiresalot (Jan 29, 2011)

I carry a small klien knife that has a single blade and fits in my little pocket in my jeans. They make three sizes of it, but I like a small knife for stripping cables and wire. It's the one with the rosewood inlaid in the handle.


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## kevmanTA (Jul 20, 2010)

I went with the Buck Alpha Hunter folder, it's a two way, hiking/work knife, might as well get something bada##.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

I carry a sog folder (usually a tanto style blade) and a LM surge on me and I have a folding utility knife in the pouch I carry my T5, 11-1, and linemans in on my belt. 

I get a lot of use out of my linemans knife but that lives in my tool bag.


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## mikeh32 (Feb 16, 2009)

I carry that klein one and scissors as well. Pretty much all low volt guys do. I also have a benchmade, and a smith and wesson tactical as well.


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## BP_redbear (Jun 22, 2008)

I carry an old-school two-blade electrician's knife in a pocket all the time (Camillus, Boker, Klein; I own several of them).

I also keep a Stanley 99 utility knife and a Knipex cable knife in my tool bag.

The knipex knife has a guard at the tip of the blade that allows it to cut right through the jacket of, say, 25-pair cable, and the guard runs along the pairs keeping the blade from nicking any of the conductors.

I would like to try one of the fixed straight-blade knives pictured previously.


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## kevmanTA (Jul 20, 2010)

BP_redbear said:


> I carry an old-school two-blade electrician's knife in a pocket all the time (Camillus, Boker, Klein; I own several of them).
> 
> I also keep a Stanley 99 utility knife and a Knipex cable knife in my tool bag.
> 
> ...


I was considering a fixed blade, The only problem I could think of, is that it's awkward when your climbing around an attic or something, I used to carry a Leatherman surge, I found it dug into my side if I was in an awkward spot..


This is the one I ended up with, 420HC stainless, comes with a leather sheath that mounts horizontal on your belt, 3 1/4" blade, and weighs in just around 8 oz. which is extremely heavy.. I like..


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## BP_redbear (Jun 22, 2008)

About my biggest mistake was buying a real beast of a folding knife, by Ka-Bar. I believe "Mule" was its model name. Oh, it was sturdy, alright. It made skinning 250s and 500s feel like I was trying to strip with a hatchet blade.

The blade was just too thick, and because this Ka-Bar was not of US-production, I ebay-ed that sucker. Gone.

A few hits on a stone and a drop-point blade on an old-school electricians knife seems to work pretty well for me. Sometimes I go with a retractable-blade utility knife, Stanley old-style.


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## Rockyd (Apr 22, 2007)

Going to the field without a knife, is like going hunting without a gun...:whistling2:


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## BP_redbear (Jun 22, 2008)

Rockyd said:


> Going to the field without a knife, is like going hunting without a gun...:whistling2:


I really get tired of hearing "Ya got your knife on ya?", Got a knife?", "Got your razor knife on ya?".

Yes, I do. I carry a knife. Perhaps every ELECTRICIAN should carry a knife. A razor knife?? Are ya gonna shave?? Do you mean a razor scraper, or a straight razor? Hmm, you really don't know, do you? Well, I don't carry either of those. Oh, you must mean a UTILITY knife. No, I generally don't carry a UTILITY knife. I carry a pocket knife. I realize that there are folding utility knives. Just carry a *)&^% knife!!

:laughing:


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

Rockyd said:


> Going to the field without a knife, is like going hunting without a gun...:whistling2:


I routinely find myself saying "why the hell am I the only one here with a knife?"


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## JTMEYER (May 2, 2009)

BP_redbear said:


> I really get tired of hearing "Ya got your knife on ya?", Got a knife?", "Got your razor knife on ya?".
> 
> Yes, I do. I carry a knife. Perhaps every ELECTRICIAN should carry a knife. A razor knife?? Are ya gonna shave?? Do you mean a razor scraper, or a straight razor? Hmm, you really don't know, do you? Well, I don't carry either of those. Oh, you must mean a UTILITY knife. No, I generally don't carry a UTILITY knife. I carry a pocket knife. I realize that there are folding utility knives. Just carry a *)&^% knife!!
> 
> :laughing:


My boss doesn't carry a pocket knife, and seldom has his utility knife handy. He was trying to get the burr out of a peice od pvc one day, so I handed him my $150+ Benchmade. He stuck it into the end of the pipe and proceeded to use the side of the edge to scrape the burr out instead of cutting it out WITH the edge. I almost cried. The knife WAS sharp enough to shave with. Now I will only let him have it when he specifically asks for it. I will walk to the truck for a utility knife for him if I have to.


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