A couple of years ago, I was impressed by the number of different Stanley utility knives the local home center store carried. There were a couple of choices – something for everyone. I found exactly what I wanted, bought it, and went home.
Since then, selection has increased by quite a bit. There are now folding utility knives, ergonomically-angled retractable utility knives, retractable folding utility knives, assisted-opening utility knives, safety knives with spring-return blades, and auto-loading utility knives. And, you can still buy a basic utility knife that has to be unscrewed and taken apart for blade changes.
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Stanley Black & Decker relaunched the Craftsman brand in 2018, introducing new hand tools, power tools, and tool storage products. Now, new Craftsman cordless outdoor power tools are coming to Amazon.
I don’t remember what led me to conduct this search, but I came across a list of Craftsman utility knives. There are… a couple.
If my count is correct, that’s 8 distinct fixed-handle Craftsman utility knives, 5 folding utility knives, 1 quick-slide knife that’s as compact as the folding knives, and 3 snap-blade knives.
I should point out that I created this image from all the separate Craftsman utility knife product pages I could find. Meaning, there could be more than I missed! Also, they are not to scale.
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Plus, there are also two pocket knife-style folding knives.
That makes a total of 17 utility knives and 2 more general purpose pocket knives. This doesn’t include 2- and 3-count utility knife bundle packs, of course, and there are a few of those. One of these knives appears to have different SKUs depending on how many blades it’s sold with (one or ten), so I only included it once.
The downside is that some of the designs might be hard to differentiate from each other, but you can probably tell most of the knives apart just by looking at them. The benefit is that there’s probably something for everyone.
I’ve lost track of how many different Dewalt utility knives there are, but that’s not a bad thing. Variety is good, as are design improvements.
Obviously, all (or at least most) of these new Craftsman utility knives are based on current Stanley Black & Decker utility knife designs. Still, that’s a lot of variety.
One of these days, it’ll be quite the challenge to see how many different Stanley Black & Decker utility knives exist across their Stanley, FatMax, Dewalt, Craftsman, Bostitch, Irwin, and Lenox hand tool brands. They also make utility knives beyond these brands, such as for Facom, which is more popular in Europe.
Are there any other utility knife designs or styles you think Craftsman should add to their lineup?
John
Lipstick on a pig. What I have experienced is the knife handle means little, carbide utility blades are where the magic lies. I simply do not care what the handle or blade holder is. The style in the left column second down is what I seem to have many of in an assortment of colors to find around the workshop, all unbranded.
Stuart
Yes, a good blade is extremely important, but usability can go hand in hand with that. I’ve had knives with unreliable blade locks, and others that were troublesome when it came to blade changes. Ideally, the best utility knife is the one where the handle becomes transparent to the work being done. That’s true for most kinds of hand tools. There are utility knives where the user experience is so bad that it doesn’t matter what kind of blade you use them with.
Toolfreak
This isn’t true. The handle is the point of contact between your hand and the blade, making it extremely important. In addition to making it tough to get the job done, a poorly designed handle can make a knife unsafe or downright dangerous to use.
Altan
The knife and the blades are all important, and also experience, I remember the first two years I was using these knives I was cutting my hands a lot, but it is almost 8-9 years I have not cut my hands even once, I can even use a blade naked, which often I do for tight places, but when I have the option to use a knife I definitely like a good knife, I do have the folding knives also but I am not a fan of them as they are not very comfortable, I just have them for their size, I don’t like too much plastic also, so I like fully metal knives more, another thing we should not forget is that different quality blades are suitable for different jobs, when I need to cut wallpaper specially after I hang them on the wall and I need to trim both ends and I know the wallpaper is wet because of the adhesive I definitely use carbide blades and quickly I replace the blades (I reuse these blades later for other jobs) to have a good cut on the edges, but when I need to cut something that I know the blade can touch concrete also I mostly use the cheapest blade.
This a good blade Stanley was making and I was using it to cut old silicon but it is discontinued unfortunately,
https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/hand-tools/knives-trimming/0-11-953-5193b-cvx-knife-blades-card-5/p/STN5852610N
Mike (the other one)
Not a big fan of snap-blade knives. I I feel like they are inherently dangerous, as people will snap the blades without thinking about where it’s going.
Folding utility knives often feel bulky to me, and I feel like unfolding the knife isn’t as convenient as a sliding action.
A simple, slim slide-action knife is what I prefer. I have a few that require a screwdriver to change blades, which can be a hassle, but not a big deal.
When I was a stocker at a grocery store, I was issued a Pacific S3 safety knife. Comfortable handle, fold-out storage, and usually a good slide mechanism. They served me well. I kept a couple, still have them somewhere.
Altan
Snap off blade are the best for cutting wet wallpaper, to have a good cut you need to use extremely sharp blade.
Jared
I use compact folding utility knives the most. None of the ones in the picture look terribly small so maybe that’s yet another variety I’d like to see added – but I also read your commment that it’s not to scale. Guess I’d have to see them in person to see whether there’s one that would suit me.
I’m not using the knife for extended periods. Mostly opening feed bags, cutting twine and other odds jobs around my farm. I like small ones like the Husky or Stanley compact folders – or my Gerber EAB (if only the dang clip would stay attached!). More comfortable to keep in my pocket.
Lately though, as I’ve gotten more competent with sharpening, I mostly just end up using my pocket knife and touch up the blade after any hard use.
Neighbor Joe
Bought one of the new utility knives made at their Cheraw plant. I found it underwhelming overall. Rudimenary design, somewhat flimsy and very similar to a Stanley utility knive. There is a nice selection but based upon my first experience with the new Craftsman utility knive, I’m sticking with my Dewalts. SBD is eager to cash in on the Craftsman brand but to quote Ross Perot, “Business is not just about doing deals, business is having great products…” So far SBD has plenty of new deals and products but just how great? If returning production to US means cheaply made hand tools…count me out.
Jim Felt
Yeah! What ever happened to the “world class” phrase slinging Ross Perot?
Kind of miss a legitimate (and provably) wealthy and personally brave “businessman”.
keith
Craftsman has a 3.25″ folding utility knife that is only 3/8 thick. Have in pocket all the time. Can’t figure how to post photo.
Grady
Top left. A fixed blade is my preference, the standard retractable blade is typically so loosely goosey sloppy, they are dangerous.
I once had a Stanley fixed blade utility knife that was old enough it was made of steel, not aluminum. I caught a coworker using it with the blade buried into a piece of plywood, and using a hammer to drive the blade through the material. It survived, and used it for years after until someone liberated it. Never had one since that compared.
Dewalt once had a folding pocket knife that had a retractable utility blade on the other end. Several coworker had one and all loved them. I know reviews for these knifes were all over the place. I was about to pull the trigger on one when they disappeared from the shelves.
I have a Milwaukee folding utility knife hanging on the side of my tool box that’s great for quick use , but for serious cutting I go for my new Stanley fixed blade utility knife.
Sorry for the rambling.
Brent
I like the Stanley 0-10-598 foldable Utility Knife. I wish it more widely available in the USA.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001IWDBU/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Altan
You can use Excel knives, they are very solid, USA made and good price, with different types of small blades.
Toolfreak
Zero. The answer is Zero.
Craftsman doesn’t actually make any of their knives or tools. It’s just stuff re-branded from the companies that actually manufacture them.
These are pretty much all just re-branded Stanley knives with a red paint job instead of silver or yellow.
Stuart
Not necessarily.
I asked about the double-blade knife that looked like a re-colored Bostitch, but was told that they took the time to update it a little with feedback and lessons learned since the Bostitch first came out. Did they update every design? Doubtful. But it’s not “lick and stick” relabeling across the board.
I’m sure that in time we might see [more?] unique Craftsman utility knife offerings.
Toolfreak
They may have done some tweaks, but nothing to do with it being a Craftsman knife or not.
Even just looking at the image you made, you can tell at a glance ALL of the knife designs are just SBD products with a red paint job and the white CRAFTSMAN logo screened on.
This isn’t unexpected with SBD’s current strategy of putting out as many products as they can in red with the Craftsman name printed on them, rather than say, starting from scratch and designing all-new products for the Craftsman brand, or even trying to get the original suppliers who made the stuff for Sears to make it for them, but it is dissappointing for those of us who were hoping SBD would be making USA-made tools a top priority and would be a much more responsible curator of the iconic brand.
Joe
The answer is zero.
Ryan Chornick
pretty sure they match up to the stanley offerenings i have sold all of the stanley, dewalt knives over the years and the craftsman offerings look awfully similar.