Ever look at a chipped wall or peeling windowsill and think, “I’d love to learn how to fix that?” You’re not the only one. A lot of DIYers and home builders run into that problem and have a frustrating time picking the right tool. They waste time. Some get really frustrated. Oh, boy, here comes frustration. I mean, you gotta picture it, say it, show them the whole deal. But man, introducing the putty knife – an awesome, essential tool for any home fix that’ll make the job go easy and get it done like a putty knife.
What Is a Putty Knife?
A putty knife is a special kind of knife that’s made just to put putty in and putty and smooth it, but it sure does way more. You’ve got different sizes and different materials of these things. You can scrape with them. You can spread stuff. You can even put drywall in with them.
The Different Types of Putty Knives:
The first one we have here is what we call a **flexible putty knife**. It is super effective at spreading putty and filler because it can flex a little bit.
Next, we have what’s called a **stiff putty knife**. You can use this thing to dig paint out of stuff, to scrape it all up, because it’s really stiff. You don’t have to worry about breaking it. It’s super cool.
Different Material Putty Knives and Their Advantages:
You can get these suckers in a lot of different materials and each one has a different advantage and a different thing about it. As soon as we find them, we’ll get right to it.
- Stainless Steel
Stainless steel – it’s not gonna rust, it doesn’t corrode. You can leave it out – trust me I’ve done that, bam – it’s gonna be fine. It’s not gonna mess up. Stainless steel is a little bit more flexible than the other metals and it makes it really amazing at applying stuff. But then you can flip it over and use it as a scraper. All these different things you can do with it make it a definite go-to for you.
- Carbon Steel
Carbon steel is really strong; it’s super rigid, works really well if you’re gonna be prying on something. If you’re gonna be digging on something, carbon steel is the bomb-diggity.
- Plastic
Plastic is really cool because it won’t scratch up what you’re doing. It’s perfect for molding, you know, like that kind of stuff, because it won’t mess it up. It’s not gonna nick it and scrape it.
- Brass
Brass is a little bit softer than steel and won’t start a fire. So, if you’re around gas or stuff, you know, if you’re doing explosive stuff, what’s nice is that, brass is cool and it’s not gonna catch fire.
How to Use a Putty Knife on Different Stuff You Want to Fix:
- How to Put Putty in Windows
Alright, the first thing you’re going to want to do is clean off the window. Just make it nice. If it’s got any putty on it or paint, get it all off. Now that it’s nice and dry – you don’t want to put putty in if it’s wet; it’s just going to slide right out – put some putty in there, just scoop it up with your putty knife. Now, with your putty knife, you’re just going to kind of go around with it around the thing. Now, this is the part where it’s really important. You’ll see that the putty knife is straight. You want to tilt it in just a little bit. Put a little bit of pressure on it so you’re forcing that putty in between that glass and wood. The putty knife is flat, so you should be able to get a really nice, flat surface.
- How to Scrape Paint
If you’re going to scrape paint off with your putty knife, you’ve got to really make sure that it’s sharp. It should be pretty sharp. You know, you can see this one’s all chopped up, it’s all beat up and stuff.
Grab a Sharpie or pencil, something that lays flat. You don’t want to be using a dime or anything like that because obviously, you’re going to cut it at the corner. Get that lead up there, and just hold your knife at about a 30-degree angle. You want to put a lot of pressure on it but do not dig it like this [like you’re digging] because you will gouge that wood.
- How to Patch Cracks
First thing you want to do is get your filler ready. Now you can. We’re going to go ahead and mix this thing up. And what you’re going to do is take your knife, scoop it out, put it in all your places. You can go over the little guy right there and smooth it off. You want it to be all nice and everything.
Pro tip when using a putty knife correctly:
Maintaining your putty knife, it’s an important thing. Don’t throw it away when you’re done with it. When you’re done with it, what I like to do is grab a little water, a little soap. You can take a wet rag, take your putty knife then run it under the water and knock out as much of it as you can. Clean up all the putty from your putty knife, because otherwise, if you don’t it’s going to dry out. With stainless steel, you’d be fine, but if it’s carbon it’s going to start to rust. When you’re all done, his with a little WD40. What’s kind of nice, with the stainless-steel stuff you don’t get to put anything on it. But you know, with carbon steel, you definitely want some sort of lubrication on it.
Wrap Up:
So, there you have its folks, the putty knife. Something as simple as a putty knife can save you from a lot of frustration if you pick up the right one. I like the ones from LM-LS ToolsproMS. Hey they even got a patent on these things. Get yourself a stainless steel one. Remember to clean it. Remember to keep it flat when you’re scraping paint and patching things. The right angle makes all the difference in the world. Anyways, catch you guys on the next project.
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Make sure you check out more info we have listed on our website of toolsproms.com; contact us with any questions you have below. Also, We’ll see you next time.
