knife blades

[rattle can man]

I'm needing to order some #11 blades. A certain website has the real deal blades and a whole bunch of cheaper ones. Anyone have experience with the off-brands?  I know you get what you pay for.

[stavanzer]

I stick to the real deal. I've had the Off Brand blades rust and go dull very quickly.

[rattle can man]

I normally go with brands I know, but with the state of the economy I'm just looking at options. But quality blades that last a bit longer, do a better job, and are safer trump low cost.

[bobss396]

At work, things would get pitched and it was worth digging through a junk pile. I have enough #11 blades, also #17 blades to last me forever.

But... the cheapskate in me always comes out. I had a #11 blade I used easily for almost 2 years. I just kept sharpening it when it was beat up/dull.

Funny that scoring copper tubing is tougher on a blade than scoring aluminum tube.

If you sharpen them, I don't think it matters where they are made.

Edited March 6 by bobss396

[Rick L]

3 hours ago, bobss396 said:

At work, things would get pitched and it was worth digging through a junk pile. I have enough #11 blades, also #17 blades to last me forever.

But... the cheapskate in me always comes out. I had a #11 blade I used easily for almost 2 years. I just kept sharpening it when it was beat up/dull.

Funny that scoring copper tubing is tougher on a blade than scoring aluminum tube.

If you sharpen them, I don't think it matters where they are made.

Now THAT’S frugal.😆

[NOBLNG]

Some of the off brand ones are Ok. Some are a waste of money. Read the reviews if you can. i have some American line ones that are quite nice and some Chinese ones that are not quite as good, but still a bargain. I will sharpen the tips once on a diamond stone to get a little extra use from them, but I still go through a lot!

 

And for foil work I still prefer these.

Edited March 6 by NOBLNG

[bobss396]

I know i have more #11 blades around.

[Swamp Dog]

i buy the cheap ones off eBay 100 at a time... i dont only use them on plastic so why buy top $. 

[bobss396]

6 minutes ago, Swamp Dog said:

i buy the cheap ones off eBay 100 at a time... i dont only use them on plastic so why buy top $. 

I haven't bought a blade, outside of surgical ones I use for mainly foiling.

It takes me seconds to touch up a nicked blade. 

My brother grinds a radius on the back of his, for cleaning up round stuff like roll cages.

[Swamp Dog]

On 3/6/2025 at 12:46 PM, bobss396 said:

I haven't bought a blade, outside of surgical ones I use for mainly foiling.

It takes me seconds to touch up a nicked blade. 

My brother grinds a radius on the back of his, for cleaning up round stuff like roll cages.

its been years since i bought any & at my age i probably want need to buy any more. no telling how many i got..lol

[RSchnell]

The only Xacto blades I use are the Z-series, I haven't had good luck with their standard #11 blades the past few years. I switched over to Excel blades and am completely satisfied with those.

I also use a scalpel for certain things, a hold over from my days as an embalmer.

[Don Sikora II]

At someone's suggestion here, I shopped around and bought a couple 100-count boxes of vintage US-made X-Acto #11 blades on eBay a couple years ago. No one is collecting stuff like that, so they were cheaper than the new ones and I'm probably set for life.

[Bugatti Fan]

Said it in your last line Harry.       ref  Quality.             You only get what you pay for.

Don't know why anyone would cheapskate on blades when buying, as good quality blades are relatively inexpensive anyway, especially if bought in larger pack sizes.

Edited March 18 by Bugatti Fan

[Straightliner59]

I have been using scalpel and their #11 blades, much more frequently, the last few years.  You cam pick up a hundred blades and a handle for about $10.