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Tool: Veritas Hacking Knife Shop Now
Manufacturer: Lee Valley
MSRP: $95.00
Of all the tools in my shop, I probably use a knife the most. Oftentimes, it’s something as simple as cutting open a box or opening a bag of hardware. But, sometimes I need a knife with a little more oompf. The Hacking Knife, from Veritas, is just that.
Picking up this knife, you know it’s built differently. The A2 blade is thick. The blade and tang are milled out of a solid block of 3/16“ thick material. The wide single bevel is akin to a cleaver. This stout shape allows you to use a mallet to hack the knife through dense material, such as splitting wedges for chairs or breaking up material for the shop wood stove. And, I have to assume, with a name like “Hacking Knife,” that the folks at Veritas are inviting you to abuse it.
The blade is lined with anodized aluminum scales for the grip. The scales are held on with a pair of binding screws, and it appears that it would be easy enough to swap the handles out with custom ones if you’d prefer (after all, what woodworker doesn’t like to customize their tools). The Hacking Knife is supplied bare-bones, but you can add on a case if you’d like. With the heft of this blade and the type of tasks it will see in my shop, I think I would prefer to keep it in a tool rack next to my bench. The rugged design and weight of the blade make it one tool you won’t feel bad about abusing in your shop. — Gregory Kopp
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