Vintage Imperial TL-29 Electrician's Knife Review

CATCH THE END FOR A VERY SPECIAL REVIEWER!!!
The TL-29 Electrician's Knife is surely one of the most produced knives in the recent past, with numerous companies making their own versions of it. Here, we take a look at a vintage Imperial TL-29, made between 1956-88, as a promotional knife for Gould Electronics. Definitely a super useful design, but this specific model has some flaws, particularly the hardness of the spear blade. Check out the video and let us know what you think!

[@BigRedEDC]

Have a couple different versions of the TL-29! Really dig the pattern!

[@practicalknifereviews1600]

Same here, I've got an old Kingston I love, but the blade on this one is SO soft

[@norby0418]

The cutout in the driver blade is to allow access to the main blade nail nick. Simple as that. The sharpened part of the driver blade is for stripping wire. A Signal Corp lineman would use this blade as his main work blade.

[@practicalknifereviews1600]

Makes sense! Thanks for the response.

[@ivancho5854]

The cut out on the top of the screwdriver blade is not to place your finger on. It is to access the knife's nail nick. The cut out on the bottom of the screwdriver blade is the wire stripper.

[@practicalknifereviews1600]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@WilliamsKnifeLife]

I have an old Camillus like that. Great utility knives particularly if you work with electronics, or wiring.

[@practicalknifereviews1600]

Definitely! I've got a Kingston TL-29 that's great! This one though has such a soft blade that it actually impedes the functionality of it. But I agree, this is a wonderful pattern!

[@aljones3997]

I wish someone would do a video on how to strip wire with the TL-29

[@wizardofahhhs759]

The cut-out in the screwdriver is for stripping wire insulation.

[@practicalknifereviews1600]

I was thinking that, but it's completely unsharpened, so I was confused xD

[@kenr1067]

The scraper blade is great for scraping a ferro rod and for fat wood. I have several manufacturers. Camillus is my favorite, the Imperial is too flexible, although it's a better slicer for food prep. I've experimented using the Camillus for other bushcraft tasks as well. It excelled in all areas. The Klein has the nicest fit and finish. I feel a TL 29 makes a great bushcraft folder. Just my opinion...

[@bushleague3472]

Cool to hear, I just picked one up, specifically as a bushcraft folder. I had the idea of possibly making the screwdriver into a clip point blade, more or less making it an improved Trapper. Not totally sure if I will just yet.

[@Mike-kc8rl]

What a great pattern knife this was /is? I have a few but mine are Camillus and Camco. They are harder to come by in the UK but i do like to carry this model, the locking screwdriver is great for all kinds of things aside from the obvious.

[@norby0418]

Also I have an Imperial version and I don’t think it was ever military issue. Both blades are thinner than a Military issue Camillus.

[@practicalknifereviews1600]

I agree, I have a Camillus as well, and you're right that the stock is thicker.

[@garethbaus5471]

The stiffness of a blade is not an indicator of the hardness of the blade. Hardening steel primarily alters the yield strength and mode of fairly but it doesn't significantly effect the stiffness of a blade you can generally bend a hardened blade further with it returning to it returning to its original shape if you bend a soft blade too far it will probably stay bent and if you bend a hard blade too far it will generally snap, but up until the stress applied reaches the point that a soft blade will permanently bend they will flex the same amount assuming the stress is applied in the same way and they have the same geometry. Your blade flexes because it is thin not because it is soft.

[@practicalknifereviews1600]

I both agree and disagree. While everything you said is true, I do have two other imperial knives made from the same years with the same thickness of blade stock, both of which require significantly more effort to flex, and come back to true even when being flexed the same distance.

[@garethbaus5471]

@@practicalknifereviews1600 there are other geometry related factors that can alter how stiff a blade is such as the width form spine to edge and the type of grind, for a given spine thickness and thickness behind the edge a full convex or apple seed grind would be stiffer than a full hollow grind and a saber style grind is going to be stiffer than a full grind convex hollow or otherwise. I usually thin my knives behind the edge using a technique that will thin the spine slightly and although the difference is so small you would have a hard time measuring or even noticing it without a micrometer or other faitly precise tool it still makes the blades much more flexible so it is also possible that the spine thickness is only very slightly different which might be enough to cause this difference on its own.

[@practicalknifereviews1600]

@@garethbaus5471 Sure, I know what you're saying, but what I mean is I have several identical blades from the same company, and this is the only one that performs differently than the others. But sure, there always could be some imperceptible difference present.