Oh... I bet you guys thought I forgot about Fantastic Finds! I totally didn't. I have an entire basket full of fun finds that still need to be tested to determine whether they are fantastic or not. But after trying the PenBlade this week to hand cut some cookies....gah! I couldn't wait any longer to share it with you!
So basically, as the name implies, the PenBlade is a cross between a retractable ( you know..."clicky") pen and an X-acto knife. You push the button at the top and the blade comes out. (You control the speed the blade comes out... don't freak out on me here.) and you push the button right above the grip to slide the blade safely back inside. The blade is made from surgical-grade stainless steel so it's not going to break on you and it's weirdly comfortable because it actually feels like you are holding a pen.
It's basically brilliant and everything. But what I absolutely LOOOOVE about it is the blade SHAPE! It comes in three different shapes right now. The #10 blade is my favorite (it's the blue one) because it's CURVED instead of a straight angle like every other X-acto knife I have ever used. The curved edge makes hand cutting curves and corners SO MUCH EASIER. And honestly....when do you ever custom cut cookies that are all straight edges? The #11 straight blade (yellow) is still a great blade if you do need to cut straight edges. And the #15 tiny curved blade (green) is awesome for tight spots that would otherwise end up a messy, mis-shapen mess that makes you want to cry because you just spent like 12 minutes cutting out that ONE COOKIE just for it to die a horrible death in the end.
Do you HAVE to have a PenBlade if you want to hand cut cookies? Definitely not. You can use any small, sharp knife you have in your kitchen. I've used a paring knife for years. But I have never gotten such sharp corners on a hand cut cookies as I did with the PenBlade - and I didn't even freeze my dough before cutting!! I'm a little bit obsessed with it right now.
Ohh!! I almost forgot! You can still use the blade even when it's retracted. It's like a thread cutting blade on a sewing machine. So hypothetically if you needed to open yet another bag of powdered sugar...just push it across the top of the bag like a letter opener and...OPEN. Or when you are tying bows on all that packaging, slide it across the ribbon for a quick cut.
Bottom Line: Purchased individually, the PenBlades are about $6 each and totally worth it. Right now though...they are having a summer sale where you can get a variety pack of FIVE PenBlades for $9. Don't even think...if you hand cut cookies ever...get some of these before the end of summer.
NEED MORE??
Get your own PenBlades HERE. (Look for the 5-pack sale!!)
See other great crafting uses on the PenBlade IG page HERE.
See my trick for making templates for hand cutting HERE.