A utility knife blade made me cut 30% slower, here's how I found out

Been using the same off-brand blades for 2 years. Last week I grabbed a box of the name brand ones by accident at the supply house in Akron. Timing myself on a straight seam, I was about 20 seconds faster per cut. Didn't realize the cheap ones were flexing that much. Thought it was my technique. Anyone else notice a big difference switching blade brands, or did I just get a bad batch?

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danieljenkins9d agoMost Upvoted

You're blaming the blades but honestly it sounds like you just got used to fighting the cheap ones and now the better ones feel like cheating. I've been cutting with whatever box is closest for a decade and my times vary like crazy based on how sharp I am that day, not the brand on the handle. Twenty seconds is huge and that kind of difference usually comes from the tool being worn out, not the steel quality. You probably had a bad box of the off-brands or the blade was dull and you didn't notice because you were in a rhythm. If you really want to test it, put a fresh cheap blade in and a fresh name brand one in, same depth, same tape, and time yourself blind. I'd bet money you can't tell the difference when you don't know which is which.