This works exactly like my metal ones—it scrapes!
So far, I've used this scraper on the window sills and floor. I was sceptical & hesitant to use a ceramic blade but it worked great. The scraper is comfortable in my hand and the blade works similar to a razor. I also tried this blade on sticker/glue and with some effort, it worked. The heating method is more effective so I'll stick to that...but in a pinch, this works!
As for usage: if a job is more than 10 minutes, you'll want to get their manual scraper (with blade that locks into place). This scraper does have a lock that clicks into place but it does not stay there unless you hold it with your thumb. Holding the auto-retractable blade longer than 10-20 minutes will get annoying...so again, get their manual scraper for longer jobs.
Overall, this ceramic blade is safe yet effective. And clean up is super easy. Just wipe with a wet one or a dry cloth etc...also easy: replacing the blade. Simply press the lock symbol down & push up under the compartment; fold the blade downward and pull off. It's a snug fit. To replace, put blade on exactly as the shape allows. Voilà!
I'll update after several uses but for now, I'd stock up and also buy manual ones. Pretty pleased!
I have both the manual and auto-retractable versions of the Slice Utility Scraper. They are visually distinguishable from one another by the color of the button that pushes the blade out: orange for manual, green for auto-retractable. The devices are about 5.5 inches (13.8 cm) long or 5.75 inches (14.4 cm) with the blade extended and 3 inches wide (7.5 cm) at the widest point. The handles are comfortable black nylon with a lanyard hole for hanging. The unit comes with one blade that has rounded corners (10526); blades with sharp corners (10528) will also fit and are sold in packs of three. Slice's selling point is its ceramic blades, which the company claims last eleven times longer than steel. They are made of zirconium oxide. They don't rust and are safer than steel blades. You probably won't cut yourself on this tool if you accidentally pick it up by the blade. Ceramic blades don't become dull as fast as steel, but they break more easily.
I tried the utility scrapers on two projects: gunk stuck to my bathroom floor and chewing gum stuck to a concrete sidewalk. I compared them to a paint scraper and a razor blade. For some reason, everything sticks to my bathroom tile floor. I normally scrape the tiles with a razor blade before scrubbing the floor. The Slice utility scraper did not do quite as well as a razor blade at removing the gunk, but it performed the same as a paint scraper. It removed big chunks but left some smaller, flatter bits that I had to remove with a razor blade. I felt the performance was okay but not perfect. The utility scraper was more comfortable to use than a razor blade, but I don't have a handle for the razor blade, so that makes a difference. The auto-retractable version of the scraper is a bit of a nuisance and I felt it was without any advantage. I had to keep my thumb on the button and, when the blade gets dirty, it auto-retracts, dirt and all, into the handle before I can clean it.
I was impressed with the performance of the utility scraper on chewing gum stuck to a sidewalk. A paint scraper was too flexible for this job. The razor blade worked but was too difficult apply the necessary pressure without a handle. The Slice utility scrapers made quick work of older, flatter, drier chewing gum and also removed the stickier, newer lumps. Ceramic blades do not hold up as well as steel to concrete, however. The blade on my manual scraper now has small nicks in it. Ceramic blades hold an edge, but they are brittle. One drawback, generally, to a retractable blade is that dirt and bits of whatever material you are scraping can get into the blade housing and make it difficult to retract or extend the blade. If you extend the blade fully as if you are going to replace it, and clean out as much as you can, it helps, but stuff can get stuck in there. (To replace the blade, push down on the little plastic piece in front of the blade button while extending the blade.)
I am happy with the Slice Manual Utility Scraper and find it useful and comfortable, but its utility is going to depend on what you want to use it for. Keep in mind that ceramic blades hold an edge longer but break more easily than steel blades. I would skip the auto-retractable version, as the blade is not sharp enough to be a major threat to your digits if you forget to retract it.
While I don't use this utility scraper for professional uses, I do have a serious need for it and use it frequently.
I have a ceramic/glass cooktop. When something boils over, it burns on. If trying all the conventional products for gentle removal doesn't work, I have to resort to scraping it off. Here is where I have to pull off a serious balancing trick: scrape powerfully enough to get the burnt-off residue off but not that hard that I scratch the surface.
My previous scrapers were single-edge blade scrapers. These rusted, did not retract (a consideration now that my granddaughter gets into all my drawers) and had sharp corners.
This scraper comes with a ceramic blade that has rounded corners, so the scratching the surface worry is reduced. It is every bit as strong and sharp as the metal blades, with the added advantage that they retract and never rust. Another advantage is that it's larger and with a longer handle. You get better leverage and control and it's easier to find in the drawer.
All around, it's a winner. All are advantages, no disadvantages.
I have used this scraper on a number of applications, and it has performed quite well on all of them. I have the auto-retractable version, which has been just fine for everything I've done. If I had a bigger project, however, I would really rather have the locking version.
I love ceramic blades! Somehow or another, if I am handling any sort of sharp object, I always manage to slice myself. Always.
Ceramic blades don't completely prevent that, but they do make it a lot harder to injure myself.
One project I had was that I had replaced my coffee pot. That meant I pulled the non-working pot off the counter where it has sat for a very long time, right next to the sink. What I discovered was a pretty nightmarish mess, as clearly we had coffee spilling and stuff getting splashed from the sink. It was just a whole lot of dried on gunk. I nearly cried, and debated just putting the new coffeepot down and pretending I hadn't seen anything.
Then I remembered I had this scraper, and I figured this was a good time to try it. Zip, zip, zip... and a quick swipe with a washcloth, and the counter was beautiful. I seriously spent less than 30 seconds scraping. I was pretty amazed.
My biggest complaint with this is that it keeps walking out of my kitchen. My husband takes it to his study for some 3D printer project, my kids take it to do who knows what.
I like to do household tasks with my children around, but using steel or other metal scrapers with the two and five-year-old around is just not a good idea. So I was delighted to learn about this ceramic bladed one. It definitely feels safer to use around my family, and it did a good job scraping some stickers off of my windshield that had been there for a long time. I then used to describe a little bit of old paint off a piece of wood so the wood could then go to the green waste rather than the dump.
The blade does not seem as long-lasting as metal and the chunky parts of the handle make it a little hard to get into tight corners. However, I did appreciate that I felt safer using this around my kids, and also safer using it in a general sense, because sometimes I'm clumsy, and I really hate hurting myself.
Overall, this has a place in my toolbox, but isn't the utility scraper I will reach for every single time. I am happy to have it though.
Feature Product
- The Slice 10591 Manual utility scraper introduces our finger-friendly, rust-free safety blades to the world of industrial scrapers.
- Slice scrapers use our 10526 (rounded tip) and 10528 (pointed tip) utility blades in a sturdy handle that holds the blades steady for comfortable, safe scraping.
- Featuring Soft-Touch comfort grips and durable glass-filled nylon construction, this utility scraper is designed to last through hours of scraping while reducing hand strain.
- The handle has two preset blade positions to protect the blade and user when the tool is not in use.
Description
The Slice Smart Blade Cutter features Ergo-Pull Smart-Retract technology. This retracts the blade when it loses contact with cutting surface, even if finger is still on the slider-button. Patent-pending pull vs. push ergonomic slider action reduces finger strain and helps prevent injury from extra force at the end of the cutting movement.
This is a solid product. Handle is comfortable, and you can grip it with your entire hand. The ceramic blade should hold its edge longer than steel, and the locking mechanism is tight and firm.
So what's the downside (and sorry if I'm being nit-picky).
Most of us don't need scrapers all day every day. First, it requires special blades, and they are more expensive than the steel disposable we all grew up cutting our fingers with. The blades cost almost as much as the handle. On that point, the handle and one blade is $20 for the handle, and for that money, you could buy a whole SLEW of those smaller, plastic ones that hold the standard razor blades, plus a whole bunch of extra blades as well.
Comes down to what you need. If you are in a profession that requires you to scrape lots of things off of flat surfaces, YOU WILL LOVE THIS. If you are only using it once or twice a month, you will soon wish you had bought a cheap one and used the money you saved on beer.
I’ve found many good uses for the Slice 10593 Auto-Retractable Utility Scraper. I prefer the safer route, and love the ceramic blade feature as opposed to a regular steel blade. Obviously, the ceramic blade isn’t as sharp and powerful as a steel blade, but it’s a handy tool to own and good for many small jobs. For instance, it does a fairly decent job cleaning bathroom tile and works well to get the gunk out of the corners of the tile on the tub’s edge.
On the other hand, I tried to scrape off old scotch tape on my exterior door’s trim, but the task was not easy, and I quit. I’ll have to revisit the same chore with a steel blade scraper! However, I find the scraper does a flawless job scraping off old paint from windows as you can see in the attached photos. It does the job without scratching. Presto! Perfectly clean windows every time!
So there were these walls once, and this woman, we will call me, decided to rip down her paneled walls and dropped ceiling. Her domestic partner, we will call him the husband was not at all pleased.
Ugh, I had a tremendous mess and needed to clean the walls before the angry husband was willing to even consider fixing the walls. I was able to get a lot of the glue off with sanding and a metal blade. But this glue had been on these walls for ummm 50 or so years. I needed an extra special something to get some of the glue off. This blade did a good job of getting some of that really stubborn glue off the wall. It annoyed me that I had to hold the blade down while I worked. If I had to do the whole room with my finger on the button - I would have quit or have needed surgery on my hands.
Great for little jobs, not so much for big jobs.
This auto-retractable scraper has a rubberized handle that makes it a pleasure to hold. But this is not a scraper for long-term use because you have to hold it open at all times due to the auto-retract safety feature. This scraper is great for scraping a dried mystery-glob off a floor, or bubble gum off the sidewalk or a few paint spatters off your window. Get the manual scraper if you want to scrape paint off house trim for repainting.
The blade is ceramic and is supposed to last a lot longer than a metal blade. It won't rust either. You can replace it with rounded-blades (like the one it comes with) or the traditional pointy-corner kind.
All in all, I like this scraper very much and am intending to purchase a manual one for upcoming windowsill work.
I’ve used this for removing liquid glue off a floor foot guard, for day to day cleaning such as scraping off dried flour on marble countertops after I knead bread/pasta (I purchased another one specifically for the kitchen after I received this one for review, that’s how much I liked it). Note, these are not food safe certified.
Really useful to have a this scraper around.
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