Lowe’s has launched new Klein Tools FlickBlade utility knives, following a massive in-store rollout earlier this month.
There are 3 distinct styles of folding utility knives – one with two notches and on-tool blade storage, a lower cost model without on-tool storage, and one with a fold-out screwdriver and bit driver.
All of the new FlickBlade knives can be opened and locked in at 135° and 180° angles. Each model has a cutting notch built into the blade holder, and the model with built-in storage has an added notch that’s accessible when the tool is folded closed.
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Their 2-in-1 utility knife is a little interesting, in my opinion, as it features a removable 1/4″ hex impact-rated bit holder that doubles as a nut driver, and a Phillips #2 bit.
All 3 Klein FlickBlade utility knives have a side button release for quick opening and closing.
Pricing and Availability
- Klein FlickBlade with Storage ($14.98) – Buy it at Lowe’s
- Klein FlickBlade ($11.98) – Buy it at Lowe’s
- Klein FlickBlade with Screwdriver ($19.98) – Buy it at Lowe’s
At this time, the new Klein Tools utility knives are only available via Lowe’s website.
Discussion
Yes, I know what you’re thinking; these do look a lot like Milwaukee’s FastBack utility knives.
We’ve seen a lot of Milwaukee FastBack imitators over the years. It’s a logical design, and as far as I am aware, there are no patent protections preventing other brands from coming out with their own inspired products.
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Lowe’s Kobalt brand, for example, launched their “speed release” knives 9 years ago.
That Klein’s new knives strongly resemble Milwaukee’s isn’t a complete shock, but was still worth looking at.
The Klein 2-in-1 knife with screwdriver bit holder has an added feature, compared to the Milwaukee, as it comes with a removable bit and bit holder. That might come in handy in a pinch.
Is this a glimpse as to what Klein Tools and Lowe’s have in mind as part of their new partnership?
It will be interesting to see how much attention Lowe’s will aim to bring to the brand with their holiday season deals. So far, only a Klein 6pc insulated screwdriver set has appeared in Lowe’s early Black Friday 2023 tool deals sales flyers.
Also Consider: Milwaukee FastBack
Klein’s pricing isn’t bad, but Home Depot has this Milwaukee FastBack folding utility knife 2pc set for just under $20 right now, as a holiday season special buy.
The Milwaukee set comes with a 2-in-1 utility knife with fold-out screwdriver, and a compact folding utility knife.
Home Depot also offers this promo set with free shipping, whereas Lowe’s only gives you free shipping with a $45+ order.
Milwaukee has started competing with Klein Tools in the electrical hand tools space, including with USA-made pliers and screwdrivers. Klein’s newest efforts seem fair.
Sale Price: $19.97
Kris Petrie
Visually I like the screwdriver model doesn’t have a bottle opener to snag everything. I have the red 6 in 1 and don’t like because of the bottle hooks on the end.
PETE
Very true! Super annoying to have that hook on the end.
Koko The Talking Ape
Stuart:
Under “Pricing and Availability,” you have two “FlickBlade with Screwdriver” items. I think the first should be “FlickBlade with Blade Storage.”
One feature you don’t mention is the ability to lock at 135 deg, which the FastBacks can’t do. I don’t think I would use that feature, but maybe others would.
Cheers!
Stuart
Thanks! Sorry – yes – the first one has the built-in blade storage.
I covered that, just not very prominently.
I do prefer ergonomic-angled fixed handle retractable knives, but am not sure I’d use a folding knife at an angle like that.
Koko The Talking Ape
Oops, so you did. Never mind!
Jared
That is a handy feature. I wonder why pocket knives never include an ability to lock at different angles. It could be useful when using a knife for food prep if I could open it past 180 degrees to get some finger clearance.
MM
Yes, it does seem strange that is such a rare feature for pocketknives, especially when pocketknives are somewhat (in)famous for including all sorts of oddball specialty blades and tools. I’ve seen pocket antique pocketknives including such things as square keys for coach carriages, nutcrackers, scales for weighing fish, fold-out tampers for smoking pipes, tools for extracting stuck empty cases from your shotgun, button-hooks, folding rulers, special picks for getting stones out of horse’s hooves, scary obsolete medical tools, and the list goes on. Nevermind the huge variety of blade shapes. Yet I don’t think I’ve even seen one that had a blade which could be locked in multiple positions.
That said, my Silky Bigboy folding saws have two different locking positions, a straight one you can use for cutting flush against a surface and an angled one which is much more aggressive, so the idea is known in the tool world. Other brands might have the same feature too.
Mark
Your last paragraph sort of illustrates my point in my reply to Jared in this thread. “Silky bigboy has 2 locking positions. Seems like its do able to add this function to something”. Sure but look at the difference in the final cost of the product.
That silky is NOT sold at HD/Lowes (big box stores) and appears to cost $60.
I can buy a similar fiskars hand saw from target, lowes, HD, walmart etc. The fiskars hand saw costs $20. Making the silky 3x as expensive to include this feature.
MM
@Mark
The extra locking position does not explain why the Silky saws cost more than some other brands. The second locking position requires nothing more than a second notch in the blade itself, it costs a fraction of a cent more to produce because the length of the line the laser has to cut out the blade is a few millimeters longer. There’s zero additional parts in the design. I seriously doubt Silky is the only company using this design because it’s so simple, I just mentioned them because they happen to be the brand I am familiar with. A quick google search suggests that Fiskars PowerTooth saws have this feature too, and they cost under $25 at Lowes and Home Depot.
Mark
Yes my previous comment was poorly written. I stand corrected. Bad take
Mark
Probably additional cost, complexity & product thickness considered not worth it during design process.
A pivot-locking mechanism would need some sort of pin & track system to lock into, a way to unlock it, strength to withstand intended function, etc.
That little ability just introduced 3-5+ parts into the manufacturing and assembly process: spring, spring retaining mechanism, track on 1 or 2 sides of the pin (probably 2 for strength so customers don’t complain the knife breaks), the pin, and the button and potentially another spring to allow for dis-engaging the spring.
Now lets shove all of that around the pivot point of the knife, which already has to contain a friction-reducing mechanism so the knife feels smooth to open, a locking mechanism that keeps the knife closed and safe (done with the button shown which is close to the pivot point) and a locking mechanism for keeping the knife OPEN and safe.
“Okay but they could come up with a better solution with less parts” – yeah sure, now you just created an entire R & D project for that department. Do they have the bandwidth? Say they design a bunch of bespoke components that make it so the knife doesn’t get much bulkier and has that adujstable functionality…
How much cost do you think all those components,that they can’t just buy off the shelf, (like a simple metal pin & spring solution ) are going to add to the cost of the knife?
All for a big-box-store box cutter.
The the customer will complain the price is too high, and the company is trying to cash in on a gimmick.
There is alot of “crowd control” in my opinion, that goes into creating products these days.
Instead, you create a second product, that will recieve it’s own judgements from the user base & you market it different as to manage expectations better. You make the product simple & fixed at a certain angle to reduce cost.
Suddenly you have 2 knives (or 3), “a solution for everyone” and customers aren’t complaining that your overly complicated adjustable do-everything knife has some quirks. Oh are your # of units sold increased. That looks great to shareholders.
Mark
I just want to add that there is a big difference between putting 1 hole in the blade-holder body at 135 degrees and creating a knife that can lock at more than 2 positions AND extend past 180 degrees. That is more what I am try to paint a picture around in my comment above.
Even with the single lock point at 135 degrees, you have to assume the strength of the locking mechanism is weaker than a knife that (when folded open at 180 deg.) is butted up against the frame of the knife itself for strength, rather than the locking pin under the thumb button
Joellikestools
I’ll be interested to see if these become prominent, the fastbacks are ubiquitous at work. I know I saw Estwing branded knives at Lowes that did not seem to gain traction. I really wish the had found a way to keep the the slotted bit. I use my Milwaukee 6-in-1 daily at work, and I use the slotted end to open electrical cabinets more than I use the phillips.
Joellikestools
I am intrigued to see who wins the electrical hand tool war, Milwaukee and Klein seem to be duking it out. Klein is adding Fastback type knives and modular toolboxes. Whereas Milwaukee is adding the made in America tools (something that seems to attract Union tradesmen to Klein.) I think Milwaukees relationship to Home Depot is going to give them the edge. Lowes does not seem to be where pros in my area shop.
Schill
My first thought was that it looks too easy to use the screwdriver feature with the knife open. My personal preference is for screwdrivers without sharp, pointy handles. It seems like it works be easy to forget what you’re using and not pay attention to the blade.
Mac
I do not understand the reason for and do not want a stlcrewdriver on my knife. I don’t use it on my multitools and I definitely don’t want it on the other end of a razor. I will get a screw driver like a real person who like non stripped screws and comfort. Gimmick.
Scotty.
Any pics of the clip side? Wire clip is preferred for me.
Stuart
They all have belt clips, but NOT wire clips.
Conrad
No bueno. All of their models have the notch below the blade that exposes the flip side of the blade, that thing gets caught on everything when cutting tangled material. In my use case, feeding cattle, the only good knife version is the last Milwaukee one shown. But I am in the minority of users, so I will stick with the simple single blade Milwaukee model that I have a dozen or so of.
Josh R
I guess imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery. Wonder if they’re made by the same OEM as the FastBack knives?
Stuart
It’s possible, but I doubt it.
With the volume of FastBack knives that Milwaukee sells every year, it’d be hard to convince me that they contract an OEM for that, especially when they sell them at special buy price points.
Based on what I’ve seen over the years, Milwaukee tends to have iron clad contracts in place that avoid lookalike tools from other brands.
I have only ever seen one example of a lookalike product. Milwaukee launched a mobile tool cabinet in 2016, with pegboard backboard, and Husky launched something very similar in 2017. I’m sure they closed that loop with the next product
AlexK
I like the look of it. Not just because it is Halloween colors. For sheet rock, I find it faster/safer to use an angled non folder. I like the lenox. The Kobalt and Milwaukee folders usually stay in toolboxes.
The shape of the Klein handle looks comfortable and I like the bit holder. Sometimes the look and feel of a tool is personally satisfying and adds enjoyment when using, and I’m going to check this out in person and see if it feels as comfortable as it looks.
GEORGE MICHENER
pumkinspice razor knifes now? where will the insanity end? lol
MM
I think Klein has been sitting on their laurels for a long time. They have always made solid quality tools but most of their tool designs have changed little in decades. Meanwhile you have other companies which have been steadily improving. Companies like NWS and Knipex have made better pliers. Wiha, Wera, PB Swiss, etc, have better screwdrivers. Milwaukee has been moving hard into the electrical tool space. Not only do they have USA-made hand tools with modern designs but they also have electrical trade specific power tools as well: power stripper, crimpers, cable cutters in various sizes, etc. Now Klein is trying to play catch-up with many of their products, but it may be too little too late. I’m sure there’s nothing technically wrong with Klein Modbox, but they’re certainly late to the game compared to Packout and modular tool storage is now a very crowded space with some serious competition from Toughbuilt, Flex, etc.
MM
Sorry, this was meant to be a reply to Joelikestools’s post about the “electrical tool war” between Milwaukee and Klein.
Joellikestools
I like Klein as a decent box store option that is made in the US. I want them to keep on going. They have good inexpensive strippers. Other than some of their multibit drivers I don’t consider them for screwdrivers.
Other than the fastbacks and their demo screwdrivers I have not been impressed with Milwaukee’s . I also don’t want them to be the only brand left standing at home depot.
The Germans just make great hand tools. Aside from wire strippers and spare tool sets all my pliers are knipex these days. I still like having a made in America option for mid-quality things. I want Klein and Channelock to keep on rocking.
Benji
Can you put a double ended bit (phillips/straight) in this one like the milwaukee has?