If you remember from last month OLFA sent me a handful of their knives to test. I want to give you a follow-up and introduce you to one more.
First: The Cushion Grip Art Knife Model AK-4
Many of you know my wife, Julie has been doing stained glass for the last 30 years.
Stained glass consists of designing the piece, cutting colored glass panels into shapes, wrapping those shapes with a copper foil and then soldering it all together. The one pictured took about 6 hours to complete.
The Queen Of Hearts
When she wraps the glass in copper foil there are places where the foil has to be trimmed. She’s found the easiest way to trim them has been with an X-acto knife in the past. But the problem has always been it takes 4 to 6 blades to do all the trimming for each project. The tips break or they get dull very fast. So I asked OLFA to send me one of their OLFA 9164 AK-4 Cushion Grip Art Knife
Olfa Cushion Grip Art Knife
Guess what? The OLFA knife is the best! The blade is not only very sharp but more durable than any other brand she’s tried. Where it takes 4 to 6 blades from other brands for one project, and single OLFA blade has lasted so long she is still using it after 3 projects!
She also likes the balance of the knife. It doesn’t slip in her hand and little tabs on the end of the handle keep it from rolling around on the work bench.
Follow-up: LA-X and NL-AL Snap Blade Knives
I put the LA-X out in the garage and the NL-AL in the kitchen drawer. We have been intentionally using them to get an idea if they are worth the few extra dollars you will spend.
The snap off blade knife is often viewed as a light duty, almost throw away tool but after using these knives for a month I can really see where spending a few extra dollars gives you so much more.
The LA-X comes standard with the carbon steel blade. Even though I have it in the garage after a month the blade shows no signs of rust. Is it ever sharp! It cuts ty-wraps like butter! The ty-wraps don’t even snap – it cuts right through.
I’ve gotten quite a few items to test so I’ve used it to cut plastic load straps, duct tape and open cardboard boxes. I’ve also used it to cut the boxes into smaller pieces for the recycle bin.
OLFA LA-X
I’ve cut at least 200 feet of cardboard and I am still on my first knife-edge. It always cuts cleanly and never catches in the cardboard like a utility knife will do.
OLFA NL-AL
It cuts so well I almost had to learn how to cut cardboard all over again.
The NL-AL is not getting as much use but we really like it because you can adjust the blade so only an eighth inch sticks out. This makes a great package opener. The best part is the lock works! You don’t have to worry about the blade sticking in the tape and the blade pulling out of the handle.
We have been very impressed with these knives.
