The Maker Knife: Flawed, But Brilliant

[Vintage Veloce]

There are a bunch of small EDC box cutter type knives... maybe I missed it, but what made this one so good / special?
A quick google shows a bunch of alternatives...
https://everydaycarry.com/best-utility-knife

 

[Ryan]

There are a bunch of small EDC box cutter type knives... maybe I missed it, but what made this one so good / special?
A quick google shows a bunch of alternatives...
https://everydaycarry.com/best-utility-knife

For me, I fell for the gen 1 maker knife because of two things:

1. When open the blade feels like a fixed blade. There is no give or flex. Plus, the blade can be replaced without tools and in seconds.

But more importantly,

2. You can easily open and close it with one hand and in one motion. I use my edc for two things typically: opening boxes and marking lumber - doing this with one motion becomes a thoughtless thing and makes me more efficient.

And it does all of this in a small and light package. When clipped on the rim of your pocket, you can't tell it's there...

After an hour of work on my gen 2, it's almost as good... but it doesn't give me the same confidence.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

On the EAB, there is a "light: version for a few dollars more. ;-)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002RILCLY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

edit: whoops it's actually about the same price. ;-)

 

[Ryan]

On the EAB, there is a "light: version for a few dollars more. ;-)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002RILCLY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

edit: whoops it's actually about the same price. ;-)

Yeah, I've never tried that one (I wasn't interested in EDCing a box blade until the mk)... and it looks really promising. I ordered both for testing.

 

[Git]

Not for me, but I found this youtube video explaining how it works

 

[NUTTSGT]

I have a Gerber EAB that I got with the purchase of a pair of Belleville boots from LAPG. Ironically, that knife lives as a back up/last resort knife in my 5.11 duty boots at the station. Great little knife.

Here's another interesting option:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084CXMJNC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Note: No pocket clip. WTF?

Seen them and considered getting one of those but they were sold out from LAPG when I wanted one.

 

[Ryan]

I have a Gerber EAB that I got with the purchase of a pair of Belleville boots from LAPG. Ironically, that knife lives as a back up/last resort knife in my 5.11 duty boots at the station. Great little knife.





Seen them and considered getting one of those but they were sold out from LAPG when I wanted one.

If Giaco ever comes through with the return, I’ll send you a maker knife for you to mess with.

 

[Packard V8]

For seventy years, if I've got my pants on, I've got a knife in my pocket, but it didn't occur to me it should be one with a box cutter blade. Never too old to learn something, so I may try one just because I can't see the good idea there.

jack vines

 

[oberst]

It’s sort of a novelty in that there is nothing else on the market like it... other box blades are either too bulky or the blade is too hard to access with one hand.

Check out the Stanley 10-810. Usually 15 bucks, small size, (about 4 inches long closed), easy access, simple blade changes, positive lock open and closed, smooth as glass with one hand....

https://www.newark.com/stanley/0-10...hopping-NewStructure-Tools-ProductionSupplies

 

[mattmus4357]

Done. Once I get this thing in the mail, I'll carry it for a few weeks and report back... Should be an interesting comparison to the over-priced, under-built Maker Knife.

Edit: I forgot... Thank you for that!

Don't even need to order it, Walmart carries them in the tool section for less than $11 I've had one for a while now and love it. For what I use a pocket knife for, it's perfect. And always sharp.

 

[dscheidt]

For seventy years, if I've got my pants on, I've got a knife in my pocket, but it didn't occur to me it should be one with a box cutter blade. Never too old to learn something, so I may try one just because I can't see the good idea there.

jack vines

People can't or won't sharpen a pocket knife. easier to throw the blade out and install a new one. That makes sense if you're cutting card board all day, or shingles, or carpet, or any number of things you'd use a utility knife for. it's never made sense to me, a proper knife is much more useful. (and mine are sharper, most of the time.

 

[JeffDM]

There are plenty of Chinese manufacturers who could make this knife to high quality standards. It's an issue of cost, not COO.

Just spitballing here, but I'd expect to pay closer to $100 for this knife, assuming the people making it are meeting decent quality standards and not losing money.

TuxThePenguin - take a closer look at how the knife works. It's pretty clever and obviously not "I did 5 seconds of machining."

Yes, lots of great things are made in China. However, I wouldn't spend US$100 on a made in China utility knife handle no matter how nice it is. Olfa SVR-2 is made in Japan, $15 and uses breakaway blades. I'd probably offer a similar design to that "Maker Kife" made in the US and made well, if I could manage to sell 100 of them.

 

[mr.lemons]

Did one guy see this through from start to finish?

 

[Ryan]

People can't or won't sharpen a pocket knife. easier to throw the blade out and install a new one. That makes sense if you're cutting card board all day, or shingles, or carpet, or any number of things you'd use a utility knife for. it's never made sense to me, a proper knife is much more useful. (and mine are sharper, most of the time.

I mentioned this earlier, but the two things I do the most with my knife is cut cardboard and mark lumber... Both are best done with box blades.


I actually collect folders. I love them for their craftsmanship... but man, I hate sharpening them... Mostly because I **** at it... and I'm really, really **** about it.

 

[Ryan]

I'd probably offer a similar design to that "Maker Kife" made in the US and made well, if I could manage to sell 100 of them.

Do it. If they are worth a ****, I guarantee I could sell 100 of them.

Did one guy see this through from start to finish?

Yes. I think so... Giaco...

 

[NUTTSGT]

If Giaco ever comes through with the return, I’ll send you a maker knife for you to mess with.

Thanks for the offer but no need to.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

I open many boxes everyday. I tried using folding box-cutter knives but I never found one trustworthy enough. The SOG-TAC Auto Mini does a great job, I run it through a tungsten sharpener every few weeks and it's good to go, 4 years EDC.

 

[jshillin]

After reading through this thread, I think I need to pick up an EAB lite to try it out.

 

[IndyGarage]

I seem to buy every new knife type I run across.

EAB Lite is a great pocket cutter for opening boxes and light to medium cutting.

However the old 50 cent box cutter that I used in high school when I worked at a grocery store is much cheaper and even more convenient for light jobs. I opened literally thousands of boxes with those things and when one got worn out you just threw it away and got another.

If you are doing heavy cutting though, either of those is not up to the task. For that my go to has been the Milwaukee Fastback for a long time, however I recently picked up a Fiskars Pro folding utility knife and I'm liking it even better than the Fastback. it's about the same dimensions as the Fastback, but slightly thicker and more rounded. I especially like the way it holds the blades securely with a locking mechanism. They claim their blades are sharper and last longer than others. They do seem very nice. I have not worn out the original blade in a few weeks of use.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I have looked at them. I will keep my old Buck. It always works. And it can slice an apple.

 

[Shiftless]

I have looked at them. I will keep my old Buck. It always works. And it can slice an apple.

Me too.
And I’ll keep using one of my Stanley 199’s to cut cardboard, etc.

 

[will335i]

Another vote for the EAB/EAB lite. I have carried one in my pocket for the last 4yrs. Back when I was flying a ton it came in handy if I forgot to take it out of my pocket I could just toss the blade and not be out a knife.

 

[coljar]

Ryan, it looks ok and I might try one when they get their **** together, but you should try one of these. They're not expensive, lightweight, and the knife blade is changeable. I've carried one for years and abuse the hell out of it.

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[Ryan]

Ryan, it looks ok and I might try one when they get their **** together, but you should try one of these. They're not expensive, lightweight, and the knife blade is changeable. I've carried one for years and abuse the hell out of it.

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It looks freaking amazing too!!!! Is it bulky?

 

[coljar]

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I carried one in my pocket at the plant for years and still do. It's very thin, but strong and light.

 

[dscheidt]

It looks freaking amazing too!!!! Is it bulky?

Not at all, about 2.5" or 3" closed. I use one as a marking knife when woodworking.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Lots of "vintage" versions of the Stanley 10-049 available on ebay.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=vintage+stanley+10-049&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=vintage+stanley+10-049

 

[snickers muncher]

Ryan, it looks ok and I might try one when they get their **** together, but you should try one of these. They're not expensive, lightweight, and the knife blade is changeable. I've carried one for years and abuse the hell out of it.

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That's what my boss man swears by. He's been using them for years.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

I've got to stop clicking on these threads, I just picked up a Gerber EAB at Wally world because it was mentioned here. I like it, I like it a lot but would like it even more with something like Kershaw's speedsafe opening system. It's just the right size, presents ~55% of the blade cutting edge and leaves plenty of handle to grip securely.

I like the look of the maker knife but after the quality is rectified it either has to be less expensive or made in the USA. It is a good concept but the execution is a fail.

 

[Cgw1984]

I have had the good fortune to travel to Italy many times and I can attest to Italian made products to be things of beauty and impeccably made. This particular example does not seem to meet this criteria once the inventor got lazy and outsourced this to China.

For my utility knife needs I use this https://www.stanleytools.com/produc...-quickchange-retractable-utility-knife/10-499

Its laughable to broadstroke a countries manufacturing quality (or lack thereof) solely on geographical location. This knife's quality is NOT lacking because its not made in the glorious italian motherland (home of some wonderful, and terrible products), but because it was outsourced to the cheapest possible manufacturer (which was in china in this case). China is willing and able to make a fantastic product.. but youll pay for it. This isnt a failure of a country, as much as the current jingoistic atmosphere would want you to believe. This is a companies failure, brought upon by greed.

 

[wingerr]

The gerber EAB is really small, barely bigger than the blade inside. Its also easy to open one handed, and costs like 12-15 bucks on amazon. Simple mechanism

I use the Lite version of the EAB, and I can flick it open, use it, then stow it back in my back pocket with no lost time. It's perfect for me. I like the ability to use the back side of the blade for rough scraping, which I'm not going to do with my Benchmade, Microtech, and Emerson knives which I just leave home.

 

[toplessHO]

the execution of the maker Knife kinda reminds me of an old engineers saying
Measure with micrometer
Mark with chalk
Cut with Axe

 

[therealjakeg]

Junk, not impressed. The design is cool but the quality needs some refinement.

 

[hothmob]

So I stumbled on this review, and I wanted to voice my agreement. I wanted to love the MakerKnife so bad, I got the first run on Kickstarter- the presentation was amazing. Then came the fiddling. The mechanism wanted to either 'stay locked' or 'flick open in my pocket'. I messed with the sweet spot a dozen times, it would stay great for 1/2 a day, then stab my thigh. I emailed support, same instructions as the ones in the box and in the video, never got it to jive.
..and I'm not a mechanical *****- I've rebuilt engines, vintage cameras, CNC machines, and successfully hacked most of my household appliances.
It's beautiful, but it sits in the drawer of the craft table never to reside in my pocket again

 

[joey1320]

Some people are really, really good at getting other people to give them money for extremely cheap things.