Tried a 6-inch knife for 3 months and finally switched back to 5-inch

I thought a wider knife would speed things up on big ceiling runs. After 3 months of fighting with it and getting more waves than a surf contest, I went back to my 5-inch. That 6-inch just didn't let me control the mud the same way on corners. Anyone else find that smaller knives give them cleaner finish work?

3 comments

3 Comments

emma_flores25d ago

Mud consistency matters way more than blade width. Thin mud on a 6-inch creates drag and thicker mud feels like pushing a brick. Did you try adjusting your mix?

miller.emery25d ago

Yeah 100% agree with @emma_flores on that. I fought a 6-inch for about two months on a ceiling job last year and ended up with more sanding than I ever want to do again. The mud consistency thing is huge but even then I just couldn't feather out edges as clean as with my old 5-inch. It felt like the extra inch was always working against me on the tight corners near the crown molding.

parkerbrown25d ago

Man did you try the 6-inch with a rounded edge? I feel your pain on that ceiling job though. Two months of fighting a knife that just wouldn't cooperate sounds like a special kind of hell. I had a similar run with a wide blade on a long hallway and ended up throwing it in the trash one night. You're right about the crown molding corners too, that extra inch makes it damn near impossible to keep a clean line without leaving a mess. Sometimes the bigger blade just ain't worth the headache no matter how much you tweak the mud.