Broadknife (Scraper)

A well-worn broadknife is better than a new one. The edge will be sharper and more flexible, and the corners will be slightly rounded. You can cut yourself quite easily with a broadknife, so use it with caution.

A broadknife is an indispensible tool, as it's useful for many tasks:

• spreading patching compound onto surface defects
• smoothing down the edge of masking tape
• pushing masking tape under baseboards
• opening paint cans (use the stiff edge, not the tip)
• cutting plastic
• scraping off wallpaper or surface defects
• an emergency straightedge

There may be uses for cheap plastic scrapers, but in my experience a good steel broadknife is far superior.

Copyright ©2011 by Nathan Harms
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