Pro tip: An old timer in Grand Rapids showed me a trick with a 6-inch knife

We were finishing a basement and he saw me struggling with a long seam. He took my knife, bent the blade just a bit near the handle, and said 'makes it ride the humps better.' It really did help with the high spots. Anyone know other small tool tweaks that make a big difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai4639d ago

Man that's a good one, it's crazy how a tiny bend changes everything. I remember my first day on a crew and a guy saw me fighting with a flat knife and just walked over, bent it on the corner of a bucket, and handed it back without saying a word. Felt like a secret handshake or something. You're right though, it's like the blade just learns to forgive all the little wavy spots in the drywall. Hard to go back to a perfectly straight knife after that.

sarah_brown1mo ago

Bending a drywall knife is a classic move. My old boss used to do that with every new knife before it even touched mud. He'd put it on the edge of a table and give it a little flex. Makes it feel like it's floating over the bumps instead of digging in. You can do the same thing with a taping knife if you're careful. Just a slight curve makes all the difference.

emery3081mo ago

My first foreman taught me that trick too, @sarah_brown. A bent 6-inch knife just glides right over the tape.