I have been working on testing OLFA’s LA-X 18mm snap blade utility knife, as well as the smaller 9mm and larger 25mm sizes.
So far, I am pretty impressed. I am still making progress on the systematic testing, but I have been using the OLFA knives more organically than I had anticipated.
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(As a reminder, OLFA is sponsoring our systematic testing of their knives, and an OLFA knife-involved and inspired project.)
When cutting certain materials, a dull blade can tear or rip, rather than cut. With OLFA’s snap blade knife, I am less resistant to snapping off a dull blade section than I am to flip or change out a standard utility blade knife.
When I need a perfect cut, I snap off the dull blade section, even if it’s not as completely dull as I normally work blades to, and get to work with a fresh razor-sharp cutting edge.
My recent experiences have convinced me to find a dedicated spot for an OLFA knife on my workbench and in my tool box. I won’t be getting rid of my utility knives just yet, but have found myself using the OLFA knives more often on materials and applications where cut quality is very important.
The LA-X is an 18mm fiberglass-reinforced auto-locking design, with anti-slip rubber-gripped and acetone-resistant handle. There’s a blunt metal pick at the end. The LA-X is preloaded with an LBB heavy-duty ultra-sharp black snap-off blade, with 8 cutting edge sections.
Second Chance Giveaway!
Earlier this month, OLFA ran a free sample offer, giving away 100 free LA-X knives to ToolGuyd readers.
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OLFA has made another 100 LA-X snap blade knives available to us, as giveaway prizes. This gives more people a chance to try it out.
100 winners will be chosen at random from all entries. US & Canada residents only. Must be 18 years or older. Limit to one knife per household/address per year.
Entry period ends this Friday, 4/27/2018, at 6pm ET.
Lastly, I have to add – these knives are so much nicer than the snap blade knives I tried years ago. OLFA knives and blades are available at Amazon and Home Depot, among other suppliers.
Hilton
I have an old Stanley snap off so I’ll give this a try. I love my Olfa scissors though, best I have. The model is SCS-2 and I have two pairs.
Brandon
Got my knife already, and have been really impressed so far. Going to replace my Dewalt utility knife for all but the roughest jobs (roofing? That’s about it.) I will be ordering blades soon.
FishStick
Just received mine yesterday so just have some initial impressions of it and will start putting it through over the weekend. Being a lefty it’s not a super friendly ambidextrous knife but once the blade is extended it works well enough. Already though has seriously changed my opinion of snap blade knives and will certainly be looking more into Olfa now. Thanks for the chance to test drive one of these!
Steven
I got mine last week and it is great. We moved about a month ago and needed to break down a lot of boxes. The feel is great and does not wear out my hand like some others. This is going to be my goto knife for a lot of projects. I am impressed and I had some doubts when I got it. My main concern was how it was going to feel and handle. After 20 boxes, it still had a great feeling and my hand was not sore.
JoeM
I just bought a pack of those very same blades for an ancient model of OLFA knife that we’ve had in the house my whole life. It was always running on one last segment, and no one in the house wanted to EVER throw it away, like it was bad luck or something. I just recently got fed up of said superstition and bought exactly those black 8-segment blades for it.
This is VERY eerie timing!
lee Hopkins
I received mine in the mail about a two days ago. i was using a snap blade knife from my local building supply store to cut 2in rigid foam insulation. On a number of occasions using the building supply knife with about 2 in exposed the blade would break after making a number of cuts. when i received my new OLFA 18mm knife cutting the same 2 in rigid foam insulation i have had 0 breaks on accident. it is also much more comfortable to use, do to the larger body and rubberized grip. just wish i had more blades, cant find local so order on line.
Kevin McKenzie
Is there a way to know if we were included in the earlier offer or not?
Stuart
Not that I know of. Some people reported having received their samples from the first offer. If you don’t have one by say tomorrow, sign up for the giveaway – I don’t think it could hurt.
Koko The Talking Ape
If you want to prolong the life of your blades, you can hone them when they get slightly dull. Leaving the blade in the knife is easiest.
Nathan
Got mine a few days ago but haven’t used it. I do think I’ll like it though.
James R.
Well, I received an email from them yesterday asking for me to update my preferences…but I never received a knife.
I guess I wasn’t selected the first time around?
I entered the second giveaway.
Travis R.
I got mine yesterday, its looks good but I have not used it yet . I can’t wait to try it out.
Mahalo
I use a stanley snap blade knive mostly for light duty stuff. Opening packages, clamshell, envelopes. I like it enough for this purpose, and being able to snap off to a clean blade is money. For the heavier stuff, I have used several different utility knives but my current favorite is this flip open one by Ox tools. Changing blades is pretty easy on the Ox, but it would be nice to give the OLFA a run.
Jim Felt
I too got the OLFA email yesterday asking for my contact update.
As we’re in Palm Springs and not Portlandia the past week or so I’ve no idea if the snap blade OLFA that I appeared to be a recipient of from the firstToolguyd giveaway ever arrived. (I get so much stuff shipped to my Studio I can’t in good conscience ask anyone about this).
Regardless I long ago ordered both sizes of the new black blade variants and over the past couple of months used them for everything up to trimming dozens of FLOR carpet tiles and have yet to snap either to a new blade!
Scott
Got my trial from the first opportunity it is way better than the Stanley I have. I went ahead and bought a small cutter to match.
Adam
Just got mine yesterday, and it feels nice. I’m slightly disappointed by the lack of a pocket clip, but I can live with that. I’ll put it to use and see how it compares with the Milwaukee Fastback I usually carry.
The yeti
Olfa knives are the best. I use the 25mm all the time.
Very few brands i would stand behind like i do Olfa. I just dont think they have an equal
JML
Olfa and Tajima blades and handles are outstanding. The variety of blades is worth checking out – three standard widths, two angles, coated blades, and heavy-duty versions.
Joe
Wow they push these knives. I’ve seen at least a dozen people giving them away and olfa had booths at trade shows giving them away…must be a diy thing , no carpenters or framers use those type of knives for good reason…
Brian
I got mine from a different giveaway (obv didn’t enter yours also), I LOVE this knife. I do think these blades are better than the non-black blades, they seem to go through material quick. It’s very nice, I don’t know how they get such build quality in such a cheap knife…it’s about the same price as a lot of the standard (US market) utility knives from name brands, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Stanley non-folding are all $7-$10 with one $15 Dewalt.
Alex
I think they are not making any money on the knife. But once you got the knife, you got to buy blades and that’s where they make their money.
pete
Hum… i haven’t gotten mine yet. Hopefully it comes soon! I remember the last sample from MORSE with the recip saw blades. That was a good blade!
Nathan S
I’ve never used a snap knife, so forgive me for the basic question. When it’s time to snap a blade, does it become a projectile? That is, do you need to have safety glasses and ensure anyone else in the vicinity does, too?
JoeM
First off: NOT a Stupid Question. It’s a very GOOD question that you SHOULD ask when buying one. So good on ya!
Now, the answer is simple: It depends.
If you accidentally snap it off mid-cut, or mid-scoring, then yes. That break-off piece can become a projectile. Especially if it doesn’t snap off where the snap-off lines are. They CAN be dangerous, but this isn’t normal.
If you are intentionally snapping the end off, then no. You’re extending the blade to the snap-off line you want removed, and then safely grabbing the part that is coming off and bending it until it breaks off. You can do this with your fingers, or a pair of pliers, but as long as your grip is on both sides of the snap off point, that blade is coming off safely.
Hilton
Therein lies one of the reasons to buy a reputable brand. My wife bought a bunch of cheap $1 snap-off knives at a haberdasher which is all well and good until it comes to snap the blade. They don’t just snap on the line, rather random pieces break off and you end up wasting a couple of blade sections until the ‘snapping’ has stabilized.
This doesn’t happen on a decent knife like the Olfa.
JoeM
Amen to that, Hilton. Can’t count how often the difference between a descent blade and a cheap one is measured in how much danger you’re in with the wrong choice.
Drew
I just got my confirmation from the second giveaway yesterday. I’m really looking forward to trying it out.
JoeM
Got the confirmation from the second run here… But, not sure if I got one of the ones they’re giving away. It sure was effective in getting our info, but there has been no confirmation or delivery.
Do we have any OLFA reps that we can ask here on ToolGuyd? We’ve had a bunch of brand reps from other companies as part of ToolGuyd’s community, do we have an OLFA rep among us?
Drewmcdan1
I just picked up mine today at the local UPS store. It was scheduled for delivery last Friday but I was away so I diverted it. Just a heads up that the shipper is “Presstime Graphics” out of Indiana. Didn’t recognize the shipper and knew I had not ordered anything lately due to my absence from home. Was a pleasant surprise today.
Anyway, first impressions are that this is a really nice knife.