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I know I know... I fell for it and bought a few of the new hobby tools. I was excited to try out the new retractable hobby knife but I just found out that it is HORRIBLE for mould line removal due to the blade being wobbly and not stable. Are all retractable hobby knives like this?? I'm using the older Citadel hobby knife now again heh

Umm I use an exacto brand knife and just buy replacement blades. Been doing that for 15+ years, works great for mould lines.

That said, the girlfriend just started collecting lizardmen and she bought the old mould line remover from GW before the new tools came out and she loves it.

Curious why you didn't buy that for removing mould lines?

The rest of their line is very easily replaceable with much better stuff for about half to a quarter the price.

Oh I know, I ONLY use hobby knives for mould lines, have been using the older Citadel one for a long time now. It's a great tool. I'm talking about the new retractable one. Both have replacement blades.

Citadel's mould line remover is ok... it cannot reach a lot of places though due to it being a bit fat heh

I'm just wondering if I'm the only one having a wobbly issue with the newer version of the hobby knife.

It's probably intentional so they can then sell you the mould line remover.

I kid of course. I bought some of the new tools too. Not the knife tho.

I got the mould line remover and I have to say, it's amazing.

The wobbliness is a product of the retractable design - you run into the exact same issue with the cheap "snap off" type utility knives. They cut just fine when pressure is exerted parallel to the plane of the blade, but the slop that allows for smooth retraction means they flex when perpendicular pressure is applied unless both blade and body are quite beefy, as with Stanley utility knives and their ilk. Best to stick with solid collet (X-acto style) hobby knives for scraping.

Noctem wrote:
Are all retractable hobby knives like this??

Not all - but it is more difficult to tighten them up since they move anyway. The particular method of retracting GW uses makes them rather wobbly as Oadie notes.

However, I now have three retractable hobby knives (not counting my snap blades and Stanley knives). Two of them are about as solid as you can hope for and work well enough when scraping as they do cutting. One of them wiggles all over the place...but it is supposed to:

http://xacto.com/products/cutting-solutions/knives/knives/Retract-A-Blade-1-Knife.aspx

That one has become a favorite of mine for general cutting. The handle is comfy to hold for hours at a time when hand cutting plasticard and other materials. The blade has a little play, but it is less wobble and more of a slight twist. When scraping with it - it rolls a hair or two and stops.

http://xacto.com/products/cutting-solutions/knives/knives/Deluxe-Retractable-Blade-Knife.aspx

I use that knife for cutting stencils and frisket film both on the flat and after I have applied it to models (cutting out for canopy glass for example). The blade has a little more play, again though it is a rotational play and once it turns about 1/16 of a turn it hits a stop and stays. I can scrape with it - and its small size helps get into odd places...but normally I don't use that blade for that purpose. Replacement blades are more expensive - so I use a cheaper blade for scraping.

The final one is a swivel blade. Again - use it for cutting frisket and stencils - but because the blade swivels it does not drag through material or snag. Very handy for cutting curves for flames and things like that. The blade doesn't stop spinning at all though - so about the only thing it is good for is cutting stencils and the like. I've had it for years, and think it is an Xacto brand...but I don't see it on their site. The replacement blades are the same that are used for their Craft Swivel knife though.

The first one would be what I would recommend if you want a retractable general purpose knife. The only real downside to it is that I can't use some of my larger blades in it (chisels and what not).

I'm sure there's some brands of retractable knives that are firm enough to not be a problem, but both wobbliness and also the rigidity of the blade affect mould line removal. I like a firm blade and a stiff blade, that's why my weapon of choice for mould line removal is one of these:

http://www.testors.com/product/136943/8801AT/_/Disposable_Hobby_Knife

I bought a cheap scalpel because that one was going blunt and the scalpel came with 5 blades for not much more $$$ and regret it, the blade itself is firmly wedged in there, but the blades aren't stiff enough and so tend to not remove the mould lines as smoothly or easily.

I have the new tool kit and overall I'm pleased with it. But I have to agree on the knife, I'll be replacing it. I don't like the retractable design, and it is also harder to hold and work with because it is square and bulky compared to a normal xacto knife.