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My taping knife broke mid-job last Tuesday and I almost lost it
I was smoothing out a butt joint on a ceiling in a condo near downtown and my 12-inch stainless taping knife just snapped right at the handle. The blade flew off and hit the floor, leaving me with a useless handle and a mess of mud on the ceiling. I had to drive 20 minutes to grab a new one from the supply house, which killed my whole morning. Has anyone else had a tool fail on them out of nowhere like that?
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kim_davis12d ago
Wait, your 12 inch snapped right where the handle meets the blade? That's crazy, I've had handles crack on me before but never a straight up break like that. Sounds like that blade was either a cheap import or maybe had a hairline crack from the factory that finally gave out on you. I've had a couple of those Marshalltown taping knives where the rivets started getting loose after a few months, but nothing that dramatic. One thing I've learned the hard way is to always keep a backup in the truck, especially for those 12 inch knives since they're kind of a pain to find in a pinch. Your mileage may vary, but I've had good luck with the stainless steel ones from the supply house, the ones with the solid handle that's all one piece.
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sethm5812d ago
Funny you mention the solid handle ones, @kim_davis. I had a similar thing happen with a cheap putty knife I grabbed from a big box store once. Snapped clean off on the second use, right where the plastic handle meets the metal. Ended up using a flathead screwdriver to finish the job because I was too stubborn to go back to the truck. Learned my lesson quick about checking the metal shank on anything with a handle.
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