Accessories

a beautiful knife with a major flaw
I purchased this knife as I have been pleased with the innovation of many of the fatmax products. The knife is a very nice looking tool, very ergonomic and comfortable when exerting maximum force into a cut. I really liked the large amount of blade storage in the handle, and changing blades is quite speedy, with a twist of the dial the knife scissors open to reveal the interior blade storage. The dial can also clamp the blade into place fairly securely if you need to exert force at the tip of the blade.

The dial and scissor design also creates some problems however. The biggest issue has been when cutting into drywall or shingles, etc, that can leave residue on the blade. Because of the close fit of the blade in the knife to allow the two halves to clamp it in place, when retracting the blade the knife can become clogged with drywall, tar, etc very easily and impede or prevent the blade from moving in or out at all. Sometimes you can twist the dial very loose to get the blade to move, but then the knife feels very insecure as the two halves rattle around against each other. I've cleaned the inside surface of the knife countless times and eventually come back to the same issue. I also seems impossible to get a "perfect" dial setting where the blade will slide easily but the two halves of the knife handle will feel secure.

These problems have resulted in the knife being retired to the tool box and I now keep a regular old stanley 10-079 knife in my apron for daily use. Sure I miss the quick blade changes but I am happier with the instant no fuss blade extract/retract and a solid feeling handle. I think the fatmax knife would be ideal when there is a lot of tough cutting to be done where you will frequently need to change blades, and the ergonomics would come into play, but if you are going to be cutting drywall, shingles, etc, I would think the fixed blade model would be better to avoid the issues I had.

drywall dream knife
This thing is large and rigid. The picture doesn't do it justice. You can get a sense of the size of this thing if you look at the relative size of the blade (it is fully extended in the picture) and compare it to the handle. This knife is almost twice as long as a standard utility knife!

The knob locks the blade in position removing all "play" making it easy to maintain precise control over the cutting action. The extra length of the handle makes it easier to reach across a sheet of drywall when it is laying flat on the cutting table or floor. The rigid blade support also aids in control while using the rock ripper cutting square it maintains a precise cut line unlike some of the knives I have used that allow the blade to wobble around in the holder.

The large handle spreads out the force on your hand making it easy to exert extreme cutting pressure on whatever you are cutting without hurting your hand and the slight downward kink in the handle also aids the cutting action by permitting your wrist to maintain a more natural neutral position limiting the stress on the wrist. If necessary I can cut completely through 1/2" drywall with relative ease with this knife.

Think of it as a utility knife on steroids. This knife has become my favorite utility knife, narrowly beating out the one by Redback tools. It is a little pricy but I don't know of a more powerful or easier to control knife being manufactured today.

Really ossm utility knife
Purchased one of these for my hubby for little household chores, and I liked it so much I bought a second one for myself! Comfortable in the hand, sturdy, and easy to change the blades. A Definite good-buy.

Very cool/ very capable
K-narly k-nive dude! The blade tightens securely. Easy to change blade. Better than the other Stanley knife w/ the rubber grip. Overall workmanship a tad sketchy. We'll see if it lasts for years.

A Large Utility Knife
This utility knife is about 2 inches longer than regular ones, and much wider. You get quite a bit of leverage because of the larger size and downward angle of the nose. If you wear gloves or have large hands you'll really like this tool, although anyone can use it comfortably. If you need to work in confined spaces, you may need to have a smaller tool handy. The knob allows you to clamp down on the blade when it is extended, so it functions more like a fixed blade knife. There are no plastic or rubber parts, so this thing can be exposed to extreme conditions and will probably last forever.