Snap-On Utility Knife GA-169 Blades

[Rich.Wolfson]

I was cleaning out an old toolbox and found a Snap-On GA-169 Utility Knife that was in there for many years.



I took out the blade and after a trip through the ultrasonic I tried fitting a new blade. This is where the story gets interesting.

Who knew, of course YOU did but who else, that there are two notch blades and three notch blades and they may not be interchangeable. So off to the local hardware store and yes, they had three notch blades. But those didn't fit either as the blades were a bit taller and wider. Not only didn't they fit in the slider, but they didn't fit in the internal blade holder cavity inside the knife. So after looking on eBay I find these....



I paid more than the knife was worth for 6 packages, 30 blades, but never thought these would not fit. But they don't. The blade on the bottom fits fine but it is a bit shorter. And not only doesn't fit the slider correctly, they don't even fit in the storage cavity of the handle.



And it says right there, use GA169-5 blades.

So I am now appealing to the collective wisdom here as I can't imagine that I am the first one to have this issue. And please don't say bring it to the Snap-On truck. I have it in my car and the next time I see one, I will bring it in. We can do better than that.

So, can anyone point me to the right blades? And if anyone wants a pack of the Blue-Point GA169-5A blades, 5 to a pack, let me know but understand they do not fit the GA169 handle properly.

///Rich

UPDATE:
Sometimes you post and get a great response right away. This time I just kept looking after the post. And what I noticed is the General Tools 855 and the Craftsman 9-9486 utility knives look identical to the Snap-On GA169. So I bit the bullet and bought the General Tools 852-100 Heavy-Duty Utility Knife Blades and with the wonders of overnight delivery they arrived this morning and fit perfectly. Problem is that I had to buy 100 when I really only need 10 and for a tool that has been in a drawer for many years, I now have 100 blades that will outlive me and my heirs. So get these for the Snap-on GA169 and you'll be good.

And if anyone needs any blades for the BluePoint GA169, PM me as I have some I will never need.

.

 

[The Cobbler]

Myself, I would get creative with the grinder .
I have some 4" Roberts brand floor scrapers . I bought some other 4" blades that are equally as good as the Roberts Blades are. they are 1/4 the cost, but they are 1/16" longer.
A few minutes at the grinder fixes up a few packages for use .

 

[RTM]

I have one also. No luck finding blades so far.

Know not to cut them.

 

[darkzero]

No idea regarding your issue & in your case I understand trying to find the blade. But I learned a long time ago that I will never buy a utility knife or similar that needs to use proprietary blades.

I do have one utility knife that seems to only fit one brand of utility blades. Tolerance of the knife was slightly off. Rather than resort to buying that brand blade or grinding blades that I already have, I modified the knife.

Many years ago I bought a 100 pack of Stanley utility blades, made in the USA (I assume they aren't anymore) from somewhere local. The damn things don't fit most of the utility knives I own, they are slightly too long. Not wanting to throw them away, I grind them down on the belt sander & unfortunately have to grind down both ends.

I never heard anyone else complain about this issue with Stanley blades. I suppose I just got a bad batch but I will never buy Stanley blades again. Husky utility blades from a few years ago were made in USA, they fit all my current utility knives without issues. I bought a number of 100 packs so they'll probably last me my lifetime.

So if I were in your shoes, I would just grind down those blades you have also.

 

[Wamsutta]

You need Stanley 11-911 blades.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Many years ago I bought a 100 pack of Stanley utility blades, made in the USA (I assume they aren't anymore)

They still are USA made (with global materials) aka imported steel.

 

[toolenthusiast]

From now on, whenever anyone posts about the CoO of frivolous ****, I’m just going to post videos of US workers.

 

[Rich.Wolfson]

You need Stanley 11-911 blades.

Nope. They need a 3 notch blade. But I have a solution without grinding and will post in a bit. ///Rich

 

[Rich.Wolfson]

I have one also. No luck finding blades so far.

Know not to cut them.

PM Me if you want a few. But you can see the General ones are good if you want to buy enough to last you years. ///Rich

 

[RTM]

PM Me if you want a few. But you can see the General ones are good if you want to buy enough to last you years. ///Rich

I have about 10 utility knives, so this is just a bonus to get it working. Thanks for the offer tho.

 

[Rich.Wolfson]

Ten of the Snap-On, Craftsman or General knives. They fit and that is assured. But I am not sure they are making them any more so figure what you'll need for the long haul.

I also added a drop of SuperLube to the slide and it's as good as new not that it loses functionality with age. ///Rich

 

[AEAdam]

Remember, these blades are carbon steel and can be sharpened. I use a paint/window scraper as a holder. Remove blades from knife, put in scraper, hone, replace. I have basic utility knives sharp as scalpels (for cutting flashing tape). They are not super sharp from new, so I’ve honed them straight from the packaging.

The steel is not amazingly hard. So a fine edge won’t last long, but they are easy enough to sharpen.