A shoe knife is a very important tool in the household, although I personally encountered it when the mention of this name in a large hardware store caused great surprise on the part of the consultant. He simply did not know anything about this instrument and did not see it with his eyes. In this regard, the author considered it necessary to devote a separate article to this tool without fail.
A shoe knife is a short thick blade fixed in a wooden, less often plastic handle. The blade length is usually 75 mm and is made of high-strength tool steel. The blade of this knife has a specific beveled shape, as well as a special shape of sharpening. The blade of this knife is sharpened on one side, and the chamfer width reaches 5 mm. Thanks to this design, the knife has great rigidity, and the short length allows cutting with emphasis and applying more force to the blade than other types of construction knives.
The described knife got a similar name due to the fact that it was one of the main tools of the shoemaker. It's just that it is very difficult to cut thick skin exactly along the line, and often curvilinear, with another tool. Later, the tool began to be tried on for other materials: linoleum, carpet, polyurethane, cardboard, rubber and many others. The design of this knife allows it to be used for cutting a very wide range of materials, often of great thickness (up to 10-15 mm). 
In a home tool kit, a shoe knife will be very useful, since they can both cut and plan, for example, the same tree. Of course, an ordinary clerical knife can be used as an alternative, but it has a much thinner and more flexible blade.
If you need to cut a small edge on a piece of wood, then there is no better tool. Also, this tool can be used when trimming drywall or plastic panels. In general, a good tool for the finisher.
If necessary, it can also be used to unscrew a small bolt for a flat screwdriver or pry off a thin material that is glued to the base.
If you decide to buy this useful tool, we recommend buying a knife with a classic wooden handle. It is much more convenient to use than a knife with a plastic handle. This is due to the fact that the handle made of wood is thicker than plastic and it is much more convenient to hold it. Moreover, plastic slips much more strongly in the hand than wood.
Although when buying, you need to pay attention to how the wooden handle is fixed. If it staggers on rivets, then such a tool should be abandoned - the handle should not stagger in any case.
If the blade becomes dull during operation, it is quite easy to sharpen it. This can be done with either an electric grinder or a manual whetstone. If the farm does not have a sharpener, an ordinary grinder with a circle for cutting or grinding metal will do. The most important thing is to maintain the desired sharpening angle.
Well, at the end of the article we want to note that it is not enough to have a good tool, you need to be able to use it.
Other hand carpentry tools
|
Useful articles |