Piercing or mid-field starts. No point, captured throat — it cannot begin a cut in the middle of a sheet. That is the open-point flooring and carpet hawkbills' job (20200-wing; 54020/54040).
Through-cuts a square point makes. Severing flexible stock on a bench by drawing a straight edge — leather, belting, gasket, foam — belongs to the square points and the mill knife; the hook is a substrate-protecting sheet tool, not a general cutter.
The flexible plantation banana-knife jobs. De-handing, de-leafing, and selecting fruit are done with long, flexible banana knives; this is the short, stiff linoleum hook and does not do that work (§6).
Scraping, prying, or striking — a ground hooked edge in a wooden handle.
A carry answer of its own without the right sheath. A straight belt sheath won't safely swallow a hooked blade; the 42700 hook-knife sheath is shaped for it (§5).
The hook is a pulling geometry with no usable point — start every cut over an edge and draw toward yourself so the material feeds into the throat. Do not try to start a cut in the middle of a sheet; that is not what the tool is. Keep body and off hand out of the pull line. A hook that breaks free lunges toward the puller — the cutting hand draws toward the body, so the off hand and thighs stay clear of and behind the blade's path. This is kneeling floor work; plan the stroke. Let the geometry protect the substrate — keep the hook working in its throat and the point rides above the floor by design; don't lever the tip down. Warm brittle sheet — linoleum, and cold resilient goods, crack when forced; bring them to temperature. Sharpen the inside of the hook. The V-ground edge lives on the inside of the curve, so it is honed with a slip stone or a round-edged stone worked along the inside of the hook, following the sweep and keeping the factory bevel — a flat bench stone cannot reach it, and grinding the outside face instead destroys the geometry. Maintain, don't feed: high-carbon steel, kept keen on a stone and wiped dry after wet flooring work, blooms rust if neglected. That upkeep contract is the entire reason to own the fixed knife instead of feeding disposable hooks.
02
The asbestos boundary — load-bearing, carried from every flooring guide in this corpus
Old resilient flooring and the black cutback adhesive under it may contain asbestos in pre-1980s buildings. Test before cutting or disturbing it. That is an abatement decision, not a knife technique, and it stands in front of any tear-out or cut of old sheet goods regardless of which blade is in your hand.
Asked at the counter
BUYER QUESTIONS ANSWERED BEFORE THE CART, NOT AFTER THE RETURN
What does a hook knife do that a straight blade can't?
It cuts the sheet and leaves the surface underneath untouched — linoleum and vinyl without a knife-line in the subfloor, carpet without opening the pad. The V-ground throat severs the material; the geometry keeps the point off the floor.
Can I start a cut in the middle of a floor with it?
No — a hook knife has no piercing point and must start over an edge. Mid-field starts want an open-point knife (20200 flooring; 54020/54040 carpet).
Is this the same as a banana knife?
No. Hyde notes the nickname, but the real banana knives are long, flexible plantation tools; this is the short, stiff linoleum hook. The .083" stiffness is the tell.
Hook knife or the 42200 hook blades?
Maintain or feed. A fixed carbon blade you stone for years, or consumable hooks you snap into a utility knife and discard. Daily flooring trade → this knife; occasional work → the blades.
How do I sharpen it?
On the inside of the hook, with a slip stone or round-edged stone worked along the sweep, keeping the factory bevel. A flat bench stone can't reach the edge.
How do I carry it?
In the 42700 hook-knife sheath, shaped for the hooked blade — a straight sheath won't safely hold it.
Is it safe to cut old flooring with it?
The cut, yes — but pre-1980s resilient goods and black cutback adhesive may contain asbestos; test before disturbing. That is an abatement decision, not a knife question.
