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So I’ve been roofing like a wild man here at MyFixitUpLife HQ and have been using tools day in and day out. One tool that I got more mileage out of than I thought was my Bostitch Twin Blade Utility Knife. I used it all over the roof site–probably a utility knife’s worst nightmare–cutting all kinds of different materials. The tool’s versatility, toughness and ease of operation really impressed me.
Bostitch Twin Blade Utility Knife
The key feature of this tool is that you can load two blades in it. This is a dream come true on a roof where sometimes a hook blade is the right cutter while others a straight utility blade gains the day.
One of the toughest things you can do to a utility knife is cut roofing materials with a hook blade. Cutting these rugged materials creates a lot of tension on a knife’s interior parts and lower quality knives will easily give up their blades or you’ll find there’s some kind of button or release that you press when you’re bearing down like mad on the knife body. After installing 20 squares of Grace Ice and Water Shield and DaVinci RoofScapes polymer slates plus cutting lumber and other packaging bands this tool never flinched. And it delivered the blade I needed when I needed it.
See, when cutting Ice and Water Shield (or tar paper for that matter) if you’ve got a bare wood deck beneath you a utility knife blade works best. But if you’ve got a surface below you you can’t drag a blade across, holding the piece up and cutting it with the hook works best. The hook is also good for cutting small pieces. And it’s awesomely better than a straight blade for cutting lumber and millwork bands. I can deploy whichever blade I need with nary a thought. Awesome.
What’s also cool is that the knife is designed so that I can only extend one blade at a time. Nice.
The tool’s slightly curved body enabled me to really grab hold and press or pull through a cut. No slips. The blade-buttons are easy to press and slide. Blade change is a little finicky but it works. And the tool’s on-abord blade storage holds hook or straight blades. Access is sensible and easy. And it never came open while I was working. Nicely done.
I think when I’m done the roof I’ll keep one straight and one hook in the tool to make old house fixes easy–OK, easier–although on drywall and demo jobs I might keep two straights so I have to change blade fewer times. Bostitch has cracked the dual-blade code with this knife.
