Years ago, my sister passed away and left me a box of her art supplies. I’m no artist, but as I was packing the stuff away I did note that the haul included some kind of an off-brand X-Acto knife. I grabbed it and threw it in my blade drawer without giving it much thought.
A few months back, I was helping a friend wrap a car and we ran out of sharp X-Acto blades in the middle of the night. I remembered my sister’s old hobby knife and went for it… The blade was at least ten years old, but was still sharp enough to finish the job. I was impressed and did some research.
Turns out it wasn’t an X-Acto knife at all, but an old OLFA Model 4. I know Olfa… I have one of their snap knives, but have had zero experience with their hobby knives. The Model 4 is no longer available. It was replaced by the AK-4 years ago. Out of curiosity, I ordered one and it’s a nice bit of kit. It is as it appears to be.
The real find here, however, is the OLFA blades. I have since bought a few more and can tell you without reservation that these are the best hobby blades I’ve ever used. I’d guesstimate that they last 3 or 4 times longer than X-Acto brand blades? And while they are expensive, the value seems to be there.
I’m sure many of you use hobby blades more than I do and my latest find is old news, but for those of you that haven’t given OLFA blades a try, I highly recommend that you do.
I bought the AK-4 here and the blades here.
A few months back, I was helping a friend wrap a car and we ran out of sharp X-Acto blades in the middle of the night. I remembered my sister’s old hobby knife and went for it… The blade was at least ten years old, but was still sharp enough to finish the job. I was impressed and did some research.
Turns out it wasn’t an X-Acto knife at all, but an old OLFA Model 4. I know Olfa… I have one of their snap knives, but have had zero experience with their hobby knives. The Model 4 is no longer available. It was replaced by the AK-4 years ago. Out of curiosity, I ordered one and it’s a nice bit of kit. It is as it appears to be.
The real find here, however, is the OLFA blades. I have since bought a few more and can tell you without reservation that these are the best hobby blades I’ve ever used. I’d guesstimate that they last 3 or 4 times longer than X-Acto brand blades? And while they are expensive, the value seems to be there.
I’m sure many of you use hobby blades more than I do and my latest find is old news, but for those of you that haven’t given OLFA blades a try, I highly recommend that you do.
I bought the AK-4 here and the blades here.