Pros: well-designed, long-lasting as long as it's properly cleaned
Cons: nothing can make taping drywall more fun: nothing!
The Bottom Line: A well-designed tool that will serve the amateur drywaller well - if s/he doesn't fling it in the nearest water hazard out of frustration with the whole taping thing!
scmrak's Full Review: Bon Tool Co. Taping Knife Stainless Steel 10" X 3"
Ten-Inch Drywall Taping Knife
There may be one construction task I like less than painting (the Ms does almost all painting around our house), and that's taping drywall. Oh, and anything that means I have to kneel all day. But back to drywall... I don't mind slinging around my 88-pound slabs of paper-coated gypsum board. I actually enjoy the task of snapping the 4x8 sheets to size, cutting notches and holes with my keyhole saw, and muscling the sheets into place; I even like screwing the drywall into place. Heck, the first time I did this I nailed up the drywall, just like Dad used to do.
That point, however, is where the fun ends - at the precise spot where taping begins. But you gotta do it if you don't want your drywall job to look like the work of a pack of monkeys. So tape I do - wrestling with the joint compound (aka mud), the tape, and a variety of drywall knives. My mid-size knife - the one that is used on the second pass with the mud - is a Bon Tool 10" x 3" Stainless Steel Taping Knife. It's the one that's used to prep the surface for, apply, and smooth out the second of three coats necessary for a good (you may read that as "invisible") tape joint.
Bon's taping knife has a smooth wood handle that's been contoured for a more comfortable grip when applying the pressure necessary to get a good tape joint. The heel of the knife is heavier steel, which keeps the works stiff while in use, but the blade itself has just a little flex while remaining sufficiently rigid to knock down dried excess mud.
Though nominally stainless steel, I always towel-dry my taping knives instead of letting them air-dry. This greatly reduces the possibility of rust, which makes it very hard to get a smooth finish the next time they're used.
Overall, a good-quality tool that just might help make a tedious job just slightly less tedious... Naahhhh, nothing can do that. Still good quality, though.
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