Hobby Knife

[The Gray Ghost]

after about 20 years I am in need of a new hobby knife
What kind do you recommend?

[Argonor]

I swear by x-acto (got 3 or 4 individual ones).

[dbsubashi]

I also prefer “X-acto” style knifes. Look for one that has a chuck split 4 ways, otherwise they tend keep their form and get loose. My current version is actually by Fiskars, with a rubberized grip that is perfect in the hand. It excels at mold line removal, due to the handle shape

at Amazon

[Connectamabob]

The X-Acto style blade is a "jack of all trades, master of none" design IMO. I used to use regular X-Acto knives like 15 years ago, then one day I bought a couple loose #15 scalpel blades from a fairground tool vendor just to try out. By the time those lost their edge, I never wanted to go back.

I have 3 types of knife that I use, depending on the task:
A #10 scalpel (disposable blades in an X-acto style handle)
A #15 scalpel ( ditto above)
An extendable snap-off style razor (smaller size)

The extendable knife is used for sheet cutting and general rough carving. The scalpels are used for more precise carving. All of them do their respective jobs way, way better than an X-Acto style blade.

Scalpel blades can be sourced for like $10 for a box of 100 if you look around. Even the cheap ones are better than X-Acto blades. Unfortunately scalpel handles are kinda rubbish for hobby carving (wrong ergonomics, and the blade retaining mechanism is not stable under side loads), so an X-Acto style handle is still desirable. The snap-off knives I get at the local dollar store. They're not quite as good as the more expensive ones, but the difference is small enough that it doesn't matter.

A lot depends on what you typically use you hobby knife for. If you just need to cut card and scrape seams, Id recommend an extendable snap-off knife over an X-Acto: it's cheaper, the ergonomics are better, and the blade geometry is better for sheet cutting than an X-Acto. Reason I use scalpels so much is because I do a lot of fine reshaping/carving.

I'll never go back to an X-Acto blade though. Their sole appeal is if you have a wide variety of knife related hobby tasks, but for some reason want or need to restrict yourself to only having only one knife in your toolbox.

BTW, I have one those knives Dbsubashi linked to above, and can second his recommendation (for the handle). It's a really good ergonomic handle.

[ork56]

I have an old blade of exact zero (spot the reference anyone?) which was a Christmas present to me around 40+ years ago from a family friend. Nowadays I only use basic blades which don't have to be their own brand, I picked up a tube of 10 for £1 at a show last year. Due to sentimental reasons, I will never part with it.
 but do agree that for foam carving scenery etc or basic cutting of foam core, then the sliding, snap-off ones are a more appropriate tool. Same as for heavier work then a Stanley knife is the best.

I find that the red handled cheap hobby knives are too bendy with the potential to slip/break - not what you want with a sharp knife?

[Elbows]

Yep, any proper Xacto will do ---but one thing I will recommend is getting a chisel tip in addition.  I use that chisel tip more than almost any other Xacto blade.  Whether it's for cleaning up glue, removing mold lines, scraping paint off my palette, etc.  Hugely useful.

[Hammers]

X-acto has not only for decades filled your needs but also defined them.

[Overlord]

I have multiple X-acto knives; light medium & heavy duty handles with a range of blades (and saw blades for the heavy duty handle). 

I also have a couple of Swann-Morton metal scalpel handles, usually with 10A & 11 blades.  Only for lighter work, but cheap blades.  They have been very useful recently cutting and shaping small blue foam blocks, which dulls the blade fairly quickly.

For heavy (rare) cutting I have a Stanley knife.

I also have an old penknife, given to me by my grandfather, that I have abused for around 40 years without damaging.  Two Sheffield steel blades with a brass/horn handle.  Mostly used now for putting filler on bases. 

[Hammers]

I do also use large and small snap-off blades with their respective appropriate handles. Cheap way to always have sharp blade for cutting plastic sheets, for example.

[Carrakon]

I only use my trusty Stanley knife these days. I like the sturdiness of the design and with blades in various shapes, it is rather versatile.

[Hu Rhu]

I only use my trusty Stanley knife these days. I like the sturdiness of the design and with blades in various shapes, it is rather versatile.

+1 for me.  I find the handle is easy to hold and prevents any slippage especially on more robust materials.  The Exacto or lookalikes are too thin for me to grasp with any comfort and security.

[Daeothar]

Horses for courses here: I have the aforementioned Stanley knife for the heavier work, such as cutting thick pieces of plastic. But I've used one for most of my hobby life (which began at around 10 y/o), and for the first one and a half decade or so, it was my only blade too.

When I got my first metal miniatures (A pack of Space Wolf Blood Claws), I had just one army; Dark Angels, so I used this big Stanley knife to dry-sculpt them back into standard marines. And I did a pretty good job at them too, all things considering.

Imagine shaving down, layer by layer a metal mini, and then sliver by sliver carving new details in the new surface...

Soon after though, I got my first 'true' hobby knife. And going by the above posts, apparently, X-Acto and scalpel blades are not the same, so I won't be able to identify it as either.

But it has a thin, aluminum handle, with a screw on, textured, tube, which secures the cross shaped bit that holds the disposable actual blades. It holds blades with a thin tang, as opposed to the blades that come with a very cheap set I got about a decade ago, which have a wider tang and will not fit in my original handles.

These fit in either a wider version of this aluminum handle (but with a plastic cross shaped bit), or in a larger, (red) plastic handle, on which the only metal part is the textured crew on tube.

I do not particularly like these, but for several years, the only blades available locally were of the wider variety, to I was forced to use the aluminum handle from this cheap set. It eventually broke (not surpisingly, the plastic cross bit, which had always been somewhat loose to begin with).

So I would certainly not recommend these ( I suppse they're aimed at the scrapbooking and cardmaking crowd, and are not made to withstand very hard work). The sets, which can be found in Poundland, Action, etc, do come with blades in a variety of shapes, but I've always found only the triangularly shaped pointed ones of use. But obviously, that's all down to personal preference.

A couple of months ago though, I bought 100 of the smaller tang blades for just €5,- on AliExpress, so replacements will not be an issue for quite some time.

I do find they are more brittle and tend to dull faster than the ones bought locally, but this is something I can live with. Compared to being forced to using a single blade for close to a year, until it really won't even cut skin anymore , this is quite a luxury.

But I'm still stuck in the tradition of having two handles; one with a fresh blade in it, and the other with one that has been chipped and dulled. The fresh one is for delicate and precission cutting, while the old one is for course work, such as cutting up sprues, scraping surfaces, prying bits apart etc, etc.

So, as far as recommendations go: use the right blade for the right job. I have on standby, for different jobs:
- an old potato peeler (which I sharpen as required) for cutting large foam blocks
- a Stanley knife, for heavy duty work
- a small handle with a fresh blade
- a small handle with an old blade

The first two are self-explanatory, but the smaller handles might take some sourcing. The disposable blades can be easily found on-line (I've used AliExpress, like I said), but the handles might be more difficult (although not by much). The handles might also be down to personal preference, as there are quite a few types out there.

[Sbloom141]

I only ever use Pound shop scalpel sets. They blunt relatively quickly, but in 15 years since I’ve been using them the sum total of all my blades (which they provide in a variety of shapes) has cost me £3!

[zemjw]

I use an ancient disposable stanley knife for cleaning up bases and for the first pass on metal figures. It has dents and gouges out of it, but has reached the happy stage of still being able to cut metal, but very seldom cutting me (I'm sure karma has just looked up and taken an interest  )

For fine cutting I switch between a Swann Morton metal scalpel and a pretty new Excel (x-acto clone). For cleaning restic ( ) I have a plastic disposable Swann Morton blade. It's incredibly light and manouverable and much better than anything I've tried. Sadly it doesn't take the same blades as the metal Swann Morton.

For paper and card I use disposable snap off knives, as paper and card blunt edges annoyingly quickly.

One thing I have noticed is that I hardly ever change blades in my main knives. I have spare packs, but the same blades have been in there for years and are still performing more than adequately.

I have a retractable Stanley knife in my cupboard, but I don't remember the last time I used it. As for working on a miniature with a Stanley knife, I'm not sure how many fingers I would have left if I tried that 

[Silent Invader]

Swann Morton scalpel with No.15 blade and a 9mm segmented blade craft knife.