SOG Kilowatt

[specgrade]

 Okay, I read the review on the Knives page. Thank you for that but I was wondering if anyone here has a Kilowatt and uses it as intended?

 I want to get one because I collect knives and I really like the ones that are "trade" related. I have a Buck Workman that I like a lot btw and the Kilowatt peaked my curiousity. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

As the one who wrote that review, I may be somewhat biased, but I really think that the Kilowatt is not really useful for an electrician, and watching an electrician working in my house the last couple of weeks has backed up my suspicions.  He uses a carpet knife to strip wire and remove insulation, and I doubt he would spend any time or extra effort trying to feed cable through the slots cut in the handle and rotating it to allow the blade to cut it all the way around.

I would say it's a gimmick for folks who know electricians and want to buy them something that looks great, not knowing it has little real world value.

Def

[Sean]

It's certainly reasonably priced at $55 out this way.  Been meaning to pick one up just for a user and part
of the collection. 

[specgrade]

As the one who wrote that review, I may be somewhat biased, but I really think that the Kilowatt is not really useful for an electrician, and watching an electrician working in my house the last couple of weeks has backed up my suspicions.  He uses a carpet knife to strip wire and remove insulation, and I doubt he would spend any time or extra effort trying to feed cable through the slots cut in the handle and rotating it to allow the blade to cut it all the way around.

I would say it's a gimmick for folks who know electricians and want to buy them something that looks great, not knowing it has little real world value.

Def

Ah see there was your chance to ask the sparky to try it out in a real world application. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

He'll be back again tomorrow to continue the work on my house- I'll hand it to him and see what he thinks! 

Def

[specgrade]

He'll be back again tomorrow to continue the work on my house- I'll hand it to him and see what he thinks! 

Def

 That would be great!

 May I ask what work you are having done? I'm always interested in electrical work.

[specgrade]

 What's the verdict? 

[american lockpicker]

What's the verdict? 

+1

[Grant Lamontagne]

I was actually called away to work that day and didn't give him the knife.  There's still more to be done though, so there will be other opportunities! 

I'm having the electrical system in my three unit building upgraded from 60 amps to 100 amps, which means tearing out large portions of my ceiling (I live in the basement unit) and pounding large holes in the walls in the tenants' units to run cable from the spot where the services come in to each of the 4 panels in my house- one for each tenant unit, and one for the main house which covers the garage and common areas.  I also had him re-wire the kitchen in one of the units as there was only one circuit to cover fridge, stove and several outlets.  And, we had to replace the fuse panel in that unit with breakers.

It's a huge job, and by the time the electrician is done, I'll have huge holes to patch.  I'll probably get a pro in to fill the holes as I hate plaster repairs and it would be nice to get in and out of the tenant units as fast as humanly possible.

Def

[specgrade]

 That's cool. I wish I was there to watch 
 Thank you.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Tragically it's not cool when you are the one living in it.  I have a good portion of the ceiling in several rooms of my house torn out, dust on everything, and random bits of blow in insulation dropping on everything.  One day while cleaning up the mess, my shop vac was spitting out so much dust that the smoke alarm went off, and when I looked up from what I was doing I realized that I couldn't see anything!  So I opened the front door of the house and ran the vac some more, only to paint the front of my Jeep white with all the dust.

And, it'll be another week before the power company can send someone out to disconnect the power so the electrician can finish the job, and as if that wasn't enough of a frustration, my new insurance company just informed me that they don't require this upgrade, so it seems I'm doing this for nothing after all...   

Def

[Benner]

That is beyond annoying huh

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yup... I spoke to several insurance companies before starting this mess and they all said the same thing- 60 amps is up to the electrical code, but not acceptable by their standards.

Then when we hit around 75% of the work done, we were put in contact with our current insurer who said it wasn't necessary...

Def

[Benner]

Well at least you are all ready for any changes in legislation in the future.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Given that many insurance companies require this change, it will help me in the future should we ever sell this place.  I know folks that have lost $10k off the asking price for rewiring work that was much less extensive than ours, and trying to do this if there was a tenant in my unit would be a much bigger pain in the butt.  So, looked at from that point of view, it's best to do it, and do it now, but even so, it's a huge expense that blindsided us and almost wiped out the little bit of savings we had left from buying this place.

If it weren't for the tenants covering the mortgage so we have more money to play with, Def would be moving into a nice refrigerator box!

Def

[specgrade]

 Sorry to hear about all the trouble you are going through. I'll let the knife thing go. Insurance companys are a pain aren't they and for what, an additional 40 amps? Crazy I say!

[John]

Just saw this I'll answer for the sparky no one I know would use a sog kilo watt,the least I could get by with a good set of side cutters and a small knife like a mora electrician http://www.heinnie.com/slh8gd693351/Knives/Mora/Mora-Craftline-Electrician/p-92-304-4201/ and at most add  a good auto wire stripper that's it   you certainly would not want all the tools in one as it's quicker to use good individual ones  

[Styerman]

I'm in that line , it has no appeal to me . It's quicker to use dedicated tools . I use my Vic. Electrician Plus lots , love the short sheepsfoot . Very similar to the Bell Systems cable splicing blade . I use it on some low voltage data and security cables , and on 14/2 house wire . The saw and awl are also very handy .

I must stress that almost all the guys  I know have different preferences that cover the whole gammut .

Chris