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My taping knife snapped in the middle of a ceiling job Tuesday | Drywall Installers - Vivisector

My taping knife snapped in the middle of a ceiling job Tuesday

I was about halfway through smoothing out a butt joint on a 12-foot ceiling in a new build out in Elmwood when my 12-inch taping knife just snapped right at the handle. The blade went flying and I almost fell off the stilts. I had to hop down and fish the blade out of a bucket of mud. Lucky it didn't hit anyone or drop into the fresh compound. I grabbed a backup knife from the truck but it was a cheap one and the flex was all wrong. Took me an extra hour to finish that pass. Has anyone else had a tool fail on them mid job and what did you switch to?

3 comments

3 Comments

theajohnson3mo ago

Damn that sucks. I had a 6 inch knife snap on me once while I was trying to scrape dried compound off a bucket lid, dumb move I know. Blade flew right past my face and stuck in the drywall behind me, scared the crap out of myself. My buddy still brings it up every time we do a job together, says I almost gave myself a lobotomy with a taping knife. Switched to a Goldblatt after that and its held up way better, but I still wince every time I lean on a knife too hard.

angela_morgan3mo ago

Almost gave myself a lobotomy with a taping knife" - your buddy's a comedian but also NOT wrong, that's TERRIFYING. I actually read somewhere that a ton of those cheap taping knives are made from recycled steel that has hidden weak spots from the stamping process. Makes sense why they snap so nasty. Glad you switched to the Goldblatt though, those are built right. I've heard people swear by the Marshalltown ones too but I've never used one myself. Point is, NEVER trust a flimsy blade around your face, that's a lesson you only gotta learn once.

young.ryan3mo ago

C'mon, "almost gave myself a lobotomy"? That's a hell of a stretch. A snapping blade is annoying, sure. But it flew into a bucket of mud. That's not exactly life or death. @theajohnson's buddy sounds dramatic. I've had tools break on me plenty of times. Never once thought it was a near-death experience. You just grab another one and move on. That's the job.