What to do with your blades.

Blades from Left to right: Double sided razor blade, Big Ben single razor blade, x acto (in tube) , paint scraper blade, utility knife blade.

I spent my day yesterday sorting through all my tying materials and listening to cypress hill essentials on apple music. Two main factors prompted my cleanup. One factor was I am trying to get jazzed about tying. The other factor (a bit odd) But when leaving Steelhead camp this fall, I misplaced my awesome Sonicare toothbrush. Dental hygiene has not been the same since. I still have my back up Sonicare, but it just doesn't have the daily driver's horsepower.

Anyway, when I got to the tool drawer, I bravely plunged my hand to the depths of the overflowing jumbled mess of tying tools, hooks, and other sharp objects. I thought it might be a good time to dive into a long-overdue job. I've come from this situation bleeding more times than I would like to admit, and I needed to make a system for organizing my various "Blades."

Thinking to myself, "I wish I had a plastic box with a divider that could house these blades." Funny enough, I just used one of my fly boxes. It's perfect for it.

Double-sided razor blades. These blades fell out of favour before my shaving days. I don't get them and don't know why they are double-sided. All I've ever done with these is break them in half to shave deer hair of a finished fly. They have likely come to their final resting place here in this box next to those that replaced them.

Big Bens. I got these from a Barbershop. They're sharp, cheap and flexible. I bought a couple of boxes from them a few years back (far below market value, I think) and I doubt I will ever get that deal again. They brought them back to Canada by the suitcase full from Lebanon.

Paint scraper holder thingy is likely my most used bladed tool other than scissors.

Likely my most valuable and most used blade is the painter's razor scraper blade. My primary use for these is cutting tube fly tubing to length, but I will chop whatever with it. It's great for getting in there and cutting stray bits. Or also good for getting feather fibres that poke out of the thread wraps on your heads too. I have the little cutter handle for them, which likely saves me bleeding a little as i will know where the blade is on my desk.

x acto. i dont use these percision blades too often but maybe one day and till then it is safe and out of my way.

Utility knife blades. I've always called them carpenters knife. I don't use these a ton either. I needed a gross amount of them at one point because I had the brilliant idea to cut my own Rabbit strips. You'll save a pile of money, they said, it's easy, they said, it'll be fun, they said.

THEY: a group of people considered to be the norm that does not exist.

Do what you like, but I wouldn't go down that road. Hareline tying products has done such a great job at delivering a consistently good product. . . . just buy em. If you need lots, talk to your fly shop and get whole skins brought in. By the time you buy the cutter, blades and clean up the giant mess that this process creates, you'll be glad you did. I hate that the fine rabbit hairs get in the air, you breathe them in and they tickle your nose.

OLFA blades or Box cutter blades. Not shown in the picture as they have their patented little yellow protective cases. I don't use these blades a lot, but I find them helpful in shaping the Morrish hopper.

Another byproduct of this cleanup was that I realized that I am a hoarder of scissors that will never see use again. I used to have a Calgary guy that would come around and sharpen scissors for $5 a pair. I learned a lot about scissors from him, which were good brands and worth buying and how to tell when a pair was "sprung" when the blades are out of alignment. Maybe I will write a post talking about scissors in the future.