What are you cutting cardboard boxes from online shopping with?

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NameAlreadyTaken

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Okay, let me paint the picture for you. Since COVID started, we’ve been shopping online more, which means more cardboard boxes being delivered. It’s now got to the point with the long backlog of deliveries that there’s pretty much a new delivery every day of one thing or another. Each delivery follows the same lifecycle: delivered to the front door, collected by my wife and transferred to the kitchen where she opens them with our longish thin paring knife and collapses the box for the recycling. I’m currently fixing yet another blunted tip on this paring knife and sharpening has become more frequent given the extra wear.

So, I’m surely not alone here. What are you using for cutting the cardboard boxes in your life, and what life hacks have you got for me to keep my wife away from my kitchen knives?
Do I need a decent pair of kitchen scissors (our current ones are shears and wouldn’t really cut butter?
I'm guessing the small size of the paring knife (and western handle) makes it most approachable for my wife. I contemplated a pocketknife, but I’m not sure my wife would use a folder?

All suggestions welcome.......
 
I have an Opinel No. 9 in a kitchen drawer for jobs like that. Sharpens up very quickly and easily, and stays sharp fairly well.
 
I always carry a pocket knife and at work (chef) I have a dedicated box knife. At work it’s a civivi praxis. And my daily carry which is home etc is either a benchmade Osborne mini 945 or my knifeart exclusive small sabenza carbon fiber show scale in tanto. I like knives. Those civivi which are on amazon or really high quality especially for the price. I recommend them highly for the $40-80 pocket knife range. Just as good or better than any crkt I’ve ever had.
Sebenza you gotta be a real knife nerd but it is buy it for life. Built like a bank safe.
 


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https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0000DCBOH/
box cutter with adjustable-depth cut so you don't damage package contents.
blade his hidden until you squeeze it.

i keep it by the front door. pretty much the perfect tool for opening boxes.

and don't let the starrett name fool you. it's just some taiwan crap. but it's good crap.
 
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sansho said:


View attachment 160294

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0000DCBOH/
box cutter with adjustable-depth cut so you don't damage package contents.
blade his hidden until you squeeze it.

i keep it by the front door. pretty much the perfect tool for opening boxes.

and don't let the starrett name fool you. it's just some taiwan crap. but it's good crap.
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Wow that’s interesting. I’ll have to check them out. The retracting blade might be a good idea.
 
KilgoreTrout said:
I always carry a pocket knife and at work (chef) I have a dedicated box knife. At work it’s a civivi praxis. And my daily carry which is home etc is either a benchmade Osborne mini 945 or my knifeart exclusive small sabenza carbon fiber show scale in tanto. I like knives. Those civivi which are on amazon or really high quality especially for the price. I recommend them highly for the $40-80 pocket knife range. Just as good or better than any crkt I’ve ever had.
Sebenza you gotta be a real knife nerd but it is buy it for life. Built like a bank safe.
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I’d probably be an EDC guy if the knife carry laws here in Australia allowed it….
Sounds like you’ve got some great folders.
 
Utility knives are a safety hazard, if interested look up the emergency room statistics on them....or visit the ER on a Saturday morning with a hand wrapped in a bloody towel and say your name at the desk, after that the clerk likely will say 'and you cut yourself with a utility knife' before you can 😁
 
NameAlreadyTaken said:
collapses the box for the recycling
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Thats awesome!

In of our previous rentals the recycling bins always filled up three times faster than they needed to. The residents wouldn't collapse their boxes. It was really frustrating. Some jerk would also just dump anything in the paper bins... cans etc... 😡... but that is another story


NameAlreadyTaken said:
What are you using for cutting the cardboard boxes in your life
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I have a few too many auction site kitchen knives. I use these for slicing boxes up. I dont mind if they get roughed up. A gyuto will break down boxes quickly. It is quite satisfying! But cardboard is blunting... I dont think there is a remedy for that.


NameAlreadyTaken said:
what life hacks have you got for me to keep my wife away from my kitchen knives?
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Depends how you guys break down boxes? Do you guys just cut the tape and collapse them flat? Or do you actually cut the cardboard down into smaller pieces?

A cheap utility knife is fine for cutting tape... they are small enough to keep in a kitchen draw. For breaking down boxes, I like the rigidity of a gyuto/chef knife. Having a beater knife in the same location as the good ones is a useful decoy. Since the beater knife is next to the good ones, there is no reasonable excuse to use the good ones for compromising tasks!
 
44CBC70E-79D9-4FA2-9C4D-AE169D77B42C.jpeg


The pink handled parer is for cutting tape, plastic wrapping and opening small boxes (uncorrogated). The center knife (parer) is my Newham Knives paring knife … loved and used daily as a paring knife on food only. The small utility knife is an early Carter. It’s very easy to sharpen and can be used for cutting corrugated cardboard when required, but a dream for small jobs on the board that are too big for my paring knife but too small for the Kurosaki bunka to its right.
 
I usually leave boxes out of the paper recycling bin to get them soggy and squish them into the crappy far too tight and small container that is only emptied every fortnight, luckily it is a 'private use' waste bin.
 
Brian Weekley said:
View attachment 160309

The pink handled parer is for cutting tape, plastic wrapping and opening small boxes (uncorrogated). The center knife (parer) is my Newham Knives paring knife … loved and used daily as a paring knife on food only. The small utility knife is an early Carter. It’s very easy to sharpen and can be used for cutting corrugated cardboard when required, but a dream for small jobs on the board that are too big for my paring knife but too small for the Kurosaki bunka to its right.
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OFFTOPIC: @Brian Weekley I wonder why you keep the sticker on the TF...Let it go, man! You would never resell such a diamond, so what's the need to keep it?!?🥳
I would even go further and challenge you - remove it ritually and show us how you do it...:popcorn2:
 
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I use pocket knives. If you do decide to test those waters, I highly recommend keeping it simple. Stay away from liner locks and such and look to a good ole mid-back lock. They lock up solid, feel secure, and are easy and safe to operate. The Spyderco Dragonfly2 Wharncliffe would be excellent here (and was partially designed just for this) provided you can have a locking folder. Very small and approachable.

Other than that, I'm actually not a big fan of box cutters for, um, cutting boxes... Of course the thin blades work great for it and if you're on a table or something then it isn't as much an issue but people naturally tend to cut in an arc and that short blade isn't very forgiving. If she's putting some force behind it and the short blade slips out, that's not good.

Cardboard is highly abrasive and will dull even the highest edge retention steel with some regularity so I just choose not to fight that part of it. A good thin blade is your friend here and I like the inexpensive pairing knife idea. You can often find them in multi-packs.

I'm not advocating this particular site just using it as an example:
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/choice-3-1-4-neon-straight-edge-paring-knife-pack/220KNPARPK5.html
Put a piece of foam in the bottom of a cup or something and toss them in there tip down. She has some to rotate through.

And also, I absolutely don't intend this to sound demeaning, but make sure she has good cutting technique. Tip angled down about 45 degrees and cutting on at least the back half of the blade.
 
Spyderco PM2 in k390 most often, smaller boxes even with Spyderco Urban (also k390). I have considered the Spyderco Watu for this (thinner blade == less resistance), but apparently I have too many knives already ...
 
HumbleHomeCook said:
And also, I absolutely don't intend this to sound demeaning, but make sure she has good cutting technique. Tip angled down about 45 degrees and cutting on at least the back half of the blade.
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Thats not demeaning. Thats an opportunity to learn.... at least for me

:)

Why is that? So you dont slip and stab the dog in the chest? Angling the knife definitely helps with the cut. I have been angling the tip up so that I dont follow through the cut... and stab the dog in the chest....


HumbleHomeCook said:
Other than that, I'm actually not a big fan of box cutters for, um, cutting boxes... Of course the thin blades work great for it and if you're on a table or something then it isn't as much an issue but people naturally tend to cut in an arc and that short blade isn't very forgiving. If she's putting some force behind it and the short blade slips out, that's not good.

Cardboard is highly abrasive and will dull even the highest edge retention steel with some regularity so I just choose not to fight that part of it. A good thin blade is your friend here and I like the inexpensive pairing knife idea. You can often find them in multi-packs
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Very much agree on these points!
 
Luftmensch said:
I hope the symmetry in the photo was intended? It is strangely pretty. Nice countertop or workbench too!
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That’s a table top at work, and those are my beauty shots of it. I really like the look of this one

Edit
 
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Luftmensch said:
Thats not demeaning. Thats an opportunity to learn.... at least for me

:)

Why is that? So you dont slip and stab the dog in the chest? Angling the knife definitely helps with the cut. I have been angling the tip up so that I dont follow through the cut... and stab the dog in the chest....




Very much agree on these points!
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Angling the definitely helps with a smooth slice in cardboard. I advise tip down, one because it is more natural, and two, allows for more leverage.

I advocate locking the wrist to start. From the elbow to the tip of the knife should be solid. When possible, I like the box mid-chest and lower. In this way, your cutting shoulder and the knife can be basically on the same plane. Angle the tip down and drive through the cut. But eve if it is up on something or away from the body, keeping the wrist locked is the key. Yeah, you might have to ease up and restart sometimes but no biggy.
 
Luftmensch said:
Thats not demeaning. Thats an opportunity to learn.... at least for me

:)

Why is that? So you dont slip and stab the dog in the chest? Angling the knife definitely helps with the cut. I have been angling the tip up so that I dont follow through the cut... and stab the dog in the chest....




Very much agree on these points!
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Also, just to be sure we're on the same page, I'm talking about vertical cuts. I don't slice the actual cardboard horizontally.
 
Olfa Japanese Utility knife. A buddy recommended them, especially their black blades which are very sharp and I have yet to have to break off a blade so they must be pretty hard. There's a staple remover on the back as well. I bought 3--one for the kitchen where most box opening/breakdown occurs, one in my office, and one in the garage.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T9645B...21-12-25&cmpgn=jan21&o=APN12175&p2=^EQ^jan21^
While you're at it you might as well get a pair of clamshell package scissors--come in mighty handy and reduce skinned knuckles on amazingly sharp plastic packages.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004S8LU2...21-12-25&cmpgn=jan21&o=APN12174&p2=^EQ^jan21^
 
HumbleHomeCook said:
Also, just to be sure we're on the same page, I'm talking about vertical cuts. I don't slice the actual cardboard horizontally.
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Definitely! That would be a recipe for accidents!

I guess while we're on tips... Where possible, cut with/parallel to the corrugation in the cardboard (like butter)... not across it (more difficult)!
 
+1 to the little Spydies. They're my box cutters for work and home.

But. A folder may be more trouble than it's worth to Mrs Name... For ease of use I'll suggest a decent parer, the Shun 3.5" would serve the function and be robust enough for some abuse.
 
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