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Writer's pictureAaron Mahrood

[2024] Milwaukee vs Klein Skinning Knife

What makes a good lineman skinning knife

If you were wondering where to find the best linemen knife, then here you are! This article will let you know about which is the best linemen skinning knife and why.


A skinning knife is a very crucial object for all the transmission construction workers out there working with power cables and lines. Let’s know about it more and pick the best one out for yourself.


Let’s choose the best lineman skinning knife

There are two elite choices when it comes to skinning knives that journeymen are often choosing between: Milwaukee Fastback Hawkbill Folding Knife and the Klein Tools Lineman Skinning Knife with hook blade and notch.


Both of these pieces are hot sellers when it comes to skinning knives, and it’s tough to choose between them. But don’t worry, this detailed view and comparison about each one of them below will help you pick the best one for you.


Milwaukee Fastback Hawkbill Folding Knife.

Milwaukee is a heavy-duty skinning knife, not like your ordinary knives. It has many exquisite features that you can try out when in need.


This knife is perfect because it can be used on any occasion. This knife has everything you need, from a push open feature to many other features that might and will come in handy ahead.



A curved blade

One of the best parts about this knife is its curved blade. All you need to do is slide on the surface, and you will get a perfect and clean cut no matter what the surface is. This is a great stripping knife for stripping wire, especially very large gauge wire.


A pointed tip

Apart from the curved blade, you will also get a clear cut from the pointed tip in front of your knife. The knife will stick to whatever surface you want it to because of the curve, and it won’t let go till you want it to. This will result in amazing and clean cuts. This knife is probably slightly thinner thank traditional fixed hawks bills it also has two positions for the pocket clip that lets you choose blade up or blade down from pocket pull


Portable

The size and the design of this knife are made in a way that supports its portable nature. First of all, it’s small, so you can keep it anywhere at home or at your workshop and apart from that the handle also has a hole which makes storage further easier, amazing, right?


Wire belt clip

The knives that have a broad belt clip always end up damaging your pants because of their bulkier nature but not anymore with this knife because it has a wire belt clip which is thin, making the knife easier to carry and operate.


Push and flip

The knife will also lock itself safely in the handle so that you don’t get hurt when carrying the knife. The push feature also helps in opening and using the knife quickly and efficiently.


Pros

  • Amazing look.

  • Heavy Duty yet light at ‎1.58 ounces

  • Easy to carry with a very fast open


Cons

  • Replacement blades not an option, however easy to sharpen

  • This is not a spring assisted open blade.



Klien’s tools Linemen Skinning Knife


Are you looking for a simple and inexpensive skinning knife. Klein is a popular industry choice. This lineman skinning knife with a hook and a blade along with a notch is all that you need for your home and work use.


This is a proper skinning knife that a lineman would love to have because it sheds wire insulation nicely with its shape and structure.

Amazing blade

This is a three-inch blade that will withstand any sort of scoring and perfecting of wires without getting damaged.


Secure

One of the other amazing parts about this knife is that the blade is nicely and securely molded in the handle itself. This means you don’t have to worry about it popping at the wrong time and injuring you or anyone else around.


Notch

One other amazing feature about this knife which makes it a perfect lineman knife is that the blade has a notch at the back of it. The notch makes scrapping and insulating wires much easier. This way, you don’t have to worry about buying another scraping knife for wirework.


Great handle

One other thing that is worth appreciating about this knife is its handle. The handle is very textured, and it also has grooves on it. This makes handling the knife much easier and less complicated. The texture also gives you enough friction to make sure that the knife won’t slip when doing any task. Lineman across the country rave about the comfortable Klein grip.


Leather protector

One of another great things about this knife is the leather sheath that comes along, completing the whole look and giving your knife some character, which is amazing.


Pros.


  • Easy handling.

  • Amazing design. Trusted American brand.

  • Sharp blade, consistently removes wire insulation on thick lines


Cons.


  • Many of our reviewers have mentioned this will need to be sharpened out of the box


So which lineman knife to choose?

Now that you know about both of the knives quite well, which one do you think is best for you? If you still can’t decide, don’t worry, let me help you out. The following factors will help you observe which knife is best in which category, helping you pick easily.


Blade

Both of the knives have amazing and sharp blades, enough to shed wires or cut through various surfaces. But, yeah, the blade on Milwaukee is more curved and pointed than that of Klein.


Handle

When it comes to handles, both of the knives are very different. Milwaukee has a curved handle which makes gripping easy, while Klein has a straight handle but a textured one to compensate.


Mechanism

This is something that is also very different in both of the knives. Milwaukee has a better and more practical push and flip mechanism rather than a Klein straight knife. The push and flip on Milwaukee also ensure that it’s safer and easier to carry rather than the knife from Klein.


Portable

If you ask me and my opinion, I would say that the knife from Milwaukee is more portable and easier to carry around rather than the one from Klein’s. This is because the one from Milwaukee can fix itself inside the handle, making it safer to put in your pocket. With an additional hole in the handle, it makes it easier to carry in your hand too.


Use

When you look at a broad spectrum and see which knife will give you more uses and types of operations, then it’s Milwaukee. It’s because there is so much that you can do with it other than just line and wiring work.


Bottom line


I recommend the Milwaukee Fastback.


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