Milwaukee knives?

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I think Sam's point it that it looks like a dagger, which are illegal in a lot of places

Dan
 
I think his point is, its a duct knife for cutting ducting.
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Yeah. Just so. Construction knives are probably built pretty specifically for the needs of that trade (hence the strange serrations on that knife) and might be pretty so-so when put to any other task.

But buy one if you want and let us know if it is something you'd care to use for general purposes.

Just don't report back that it's a bad knife if you haven't cut a fair amount of rigid and flex duct with it because that's what it is made to do.
 
joneb, are you always this surly?

Asking a prospective knife buyer what they want to do with a knife is a common, and useful, prelude to giving any advice about a knife. If the problem is just that you don't like people, you're on the wrong site.

John
 
Looks like this purchaser has recommendations outside of the stated purpose, I could see having one in the toolbox of the truck. Probably ChiCom made though.
Duct knives, including this one, are designed primarily for HVAC installers and other insulation installers. The two sides cut differently: plain side for clean cuts and can be sharpened, and the serrated side for quick cuts. So far I have used mine for cutting cardboard, rosin paper, rope, string, roots, branches, and plastic strapping and it has excelled at all of them. What Milwaukee does not say is that this is a great general-purpose knife that many tradesmen, contractors, workers, fishermen, campers, hobbyists, outdoorsmen, and weekend warriors will find useful for a variety of applications.
I do not want to call this knife disposable but for the price and its robust design you can certainly use it as your "beater" knife that gets used for everything from demolition to digging to landscaping to finish work. I would recommend a sharpening stone or smooth file to keep the plain edge sharp.
Highly recommended whether or not you use it for ductwork.
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Very common practice these days to take an established brand (long established like Milwaukee...) and use it to flog cheap goods with the logo of the old brand as part of the deal....

Did I mention "cheap goods" -that might not be a bad thing if you're looking for a knife you're going to seriously abuse....
 
I bought the FASTBACK folding knife at Home Depot a few months back, when they were selling for $ 10: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-FASTBACK-5-in-Flip-Pocket-Knife-48-22-1990/203981004. Here were my thoughts at the time:

I have to say that this is quite the value for an EDC beater knife. It is made in China with a mystery stainless-steel (probably 440), but it came out of the package shaving sharp, the blade locks up tight with no wobble, it is retained in the open position with a liner lock and you can press a button on the handle and open the knife with a wrist flick. The stainless steel wire clip is reversible for tip up or down carry (it came tip down) and the textured red FRN handle is visible, strong and lightweight. The back of the handle has a black spacer closing up the rear of the handle and the handle has a stainless steel liner. There is some gimping on the top of the handle and blade. The blade has no nail nick or thumbstud to assist with opening, so I either use the wrist flick or grab the exposed portion of the blade. The bead-blasted blade is three inches long with a drop point and is 3/32nds of an inch thick.

I have paid more for lesser-quality knives, and at $ 10, I won't cry if something happens to this. I am going to give the CRKTs, Kershaws and Benchmades a rest for a bit while I carry this one.


I have been carrying it for a few months now, and continue to be impressed with the performance. It still has a shaving-sharp edge with a few passes of a diamond stone.
 
I found the above mentioned Stanley FASTBACK model in a park recently. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauke...PIPHorizontal1_rr-_-205935390-_-203981004-_-N

Appears to be a well made, sharp, and very sturdy knife with a nice lockup, but I would say it meets the legal definition for a gravity knife in certain states. It has a button on the side, press it and there is zero resistance on the blade. Flick your wrist and it opens completely.

NY's gravity knife definition was "opens with the application of centrifugal force", which this meets. May be the same in other states. I am not permitted to carry such a knife where I currently reside, so it sits in my garage tool box. Poor marketing that Home Depot sells such a knife in a state where they're banned. Hate to see someone buy it, think it's legal because they're selling it, and get arrested.
 
Looks like this purchaser has recommendations outside of the stated purpose, I could see having one in the toolbox of the truck. Probably ChiCom made though.
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This knife is going in my dive bag I may blunt the tip, it's made in Taiwan.
I think it will do well in freshwater but may corrode in saltwater, is there something I can apply to the blade when in saltwater?
The blade is 5.5625" OAL 10.6875"
Blade thickness .120"
The sheath does retain the knife well.
Weight 6.6 oz with sheath 8.1 oz
001.JPG
002.JPG
 
I'm no dive knife expert.

But sealing it against salt water getting under the handle / tang joint would be a real challenge I would think.

I might try filling all the cracks & joints with thin CA adhesive.

Coat the blade with paste floor wax and leave it on the blade.

Surely I am serious! :D


rc
 
Thanks rc, I've lost a pricey dive knife and now I have one I can afford to abuse I just don't want the edge corroded when I need it.
 
Surely you can't be serious, yes I am and stop calling me Shirley Sorry, couldn't resist. Don't know about salt water knife, but it it does look like a good yard knife. Here in Arizona we have some mean vegetation.
 
I think most dive knives are designed to balance very good corrosion resistance ahead of edge retention. This knife, not being designed for wet condition use, or especially salt water use -- and being of mystery steel -- will be hard to guess about.

At the very least you're going to want to do exactly what rcmodel said and slather up up heavily with wax, and you will also want to scrub it down very well when you get out of the water, oil and/or wax it again. Eventually it will rust under the handle, but for the price, why would you care? It probably won't hold a phenomenal edge under a lot of use, but so what? Sharpen it before you oil it and put it away.

Clipping that point down is probably a very VERY good idea for a dive knife. And, truth be told, it probably IS as good as most knives sold for diving.

Give it a workout and let us know what you think of it after you've done some work with it.
 
joneb,

You didn't say what you wanted to do with the knife so it is perfectly reasonable to inquire. The purpose for a knife usually dictates the construction and materials so asking after the purpose is prudent.

I dive and I wouldn't trust a duct knife to the most important purpose of a knife in diving, self rescue from entanglement. A prudent diver would test a knife not made for cutting net and line against such materials before staking their life on it. I'd also test it against saltwater. Take a few days to test it carefully before diving with it.

Let us know how it stands up to corrosion and how it actually cuts against ghost net and heavier entangling material.
 
Thank you Sam, I lost a titanium knife in a river dive. I am exploring other options.
 
I'd also test it against saltwater. Take a few days to test it carefully before diving with it.
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Thanks hso, I used a G 81 for a back up in saltwater it still hasn't fully recovered.
 
I have a thread here somewhere on a duct knife like this I picked up in Home Depot.

I found it wouldn't hold an edge, but it was pretty rust resistant. I found the sheath was pretty poor.

I dove with an old Tekna on my right calf and a Spyderco Rescue folder in my left BC pocket. There are a couple of good dive knife threads here that recommend a stainless Mora and the mods for them to make them more suitable for diving. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=762743&page=3&highlight=Dive+Knife Since you can get a Mora for $20 and we know that Moras are very good inexpensive knives I'd advise forgetting the duct knife and getting a Mora and modifying the carry system with rubber tubing. They even have a Marine Rescue now. http://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Marine-Rescue-Serrated-Stainless/dp/B00L5ETNXA
 
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I'd rather use an anticorrosion coating like wax (White Lightning) or the sprays like the new WD40 Specialist anticorrosion product.

I'd use it on a stainless Mora as well as a precaution. I assume you rinsed the sheath and the knife right away after your dives and then dried them before storage?
 
I assume you rinsed the sheath and the knife right away after your dives and then dried them before storage?
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My gear was dunked in a 55 gallon can of fresh water, I could have taken more care of the knives, as for the Mora I took some extra care but it was not enough, the fine edge is very vulnerable.
 
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