Hard to improve on this
What started this whole foray into box knife utopia for me is the 99E at work got taken off some where, I took in my 10-499 from home and it drove me nuts with the rattling and blade setting not staying where I put it. Figured why not get the Pro. Pro is too big for my pouch (but not for the workshop peg board at home ) and I use the short blade settings all the time (see comment on Pro bellow ) so I ordered another 99E because I knew I liked it. If they had cheapened the knife I was all set to order the Milwaukee with the blade advance on the side but I don't need the bulk so since the 99E is still very well made I am all set. The 99E * has a stout solid feel * rattles if spare blades are in it but not nearly as much as the 10-499 A small piece of foam stops the rattle. * has five VERY distinct blade settings. * has the firmest button spring for the blade settings. * super easy to feel the blade setting notches * They added some thing to cause friction to hold the screw for opening the case so the screw won't rattle loose. That was a nice touch. The 10-499 * is the lightest by far but strong enough * I find that how ever I grasp it the button gets pushed and the blade advances to the longest setting while cutting up large boxes (many bicycle shipping boxes ). * It rattles a lot * Three blade settings with a slight extension on the forth but that is to remove the blade using the side blade release button. The "Pro-Grade" * It is a very substantial box knife * It is "defend your castle from invaders" substantial (if it is a small castle and there are only half a dozen invaders ). * As you can see from the photo it is way larger. If you are wearing gloves and can't hang onto a smaller box knife the Pro is made with you in mind. * When I slipped it into my small tool pouch on my belt I was concerned with how much room it took up and it is heavy. * The blade changing mechanism works really , really well. Never a snag. Just run the thing back after pulling out the worn out blade and it grabs and advances another blade as you run the button forward again. * This knife comes with eight blades ! ! ! The 99E comes with three. * ONE small problem . . . the spring for the blade advance setting lock is very weak so it is hard to tell were the notches are. It takes a knack and practice to even find one consistently and it is not quick. For the most part this knife will be used with the blade fully extended so not a big deal. Once in a notch it stays put. There is a metal flap spring with a coil spring reinforcing it that pushes against the side of the spare blades to hold them tight against the self loading feeder. This seemed to effect the blade advance lock so I used it with only the one blade being used. Still hard to find the notches. * There are three blade settings The photo shows the minimum setting for each blade. A bit longer on the Pro than the rest. Read more


