Hyde Tools 20200 2-1/2" Long-point Flooring Knife

pierce with the point, don't saw an entry — the long point is the tool's cut-starter, driven through at a steep angle and then laid down into the draw. The pull: knife drawn toward you, wrist locked, letting the curve feed material toward the belly of the edge; if the blade climbs out of the work, your angle is too flat or your edge is dull, not your arm too weak. Depth: the open point goes as deep as you let it — over a subfloor that matters, cut over sacrificial scrap or switch to a captured hook. Body position: this is kneeling work with the hand inches off the floor; the long point exists so that stays survivable. What the tip will not forgive: twisting, prying, and levering side-loads — that is the documented reason the short-point 20250 exists, and treating the 20200's fine point as a pry bar is how it stops being fine.

carbon cutlery steel, hardened, tempered, and factory honed; plan to hone it again as part of normal upkeep. The inside curve is best sharpened with a slip stone or abrasive wrapped on a dowel and drawn along the sweep, then strop the burr off the outside. A flat bench stone by itself can flatten the curve’s belly and change the knife’s profile over time. Keep the point keen — a rounded-over point turns every pierce into a struggle — and wipe the blade dry after wet work, because adhesive water and damp subfloors can bloom rust on neglected carbon steel. If you want replaceable edges instead of maintaining carbon steel, use 42200 hook blades in a utility knife.