Source: TOOLS OF THE TRADE Magazine
Publication date: February 23, 2009
By Myron Ferguson
Goldblatt's BladeRunner drywall cutter wasn't even on the market when I first heard about it, but it sounded so cool, I knew I wanted to try it out: a tool that scores both sides of a panel at the same time, and makes drywall cuts a very quick snap. I even dreamed about it one night, and woke up hoping I had just invented something in my sleep.
Now that I've tried it, the BladeRunner has become a regular in my drywall tool arsenal. Typical drywall cuts are a three-step process. You use a utility knife to score through the paper on one side of a sheet. You then snap the piece away from the cut side, and finish by cutting the paper on the back side to free it. The BladeRunner turns this into a two-step process by cutting the paper on both sides at once.
The tool has strongly magnetized top and bottom halves, each with a rolling cutting wheel much like a mini pizza cutter. They are stored held apart by two hinged, spring-loaded legs which fold in when you start a cut at the edge of a sheet. Now separated by the drywall, the two halves are magnetically held exactly opposite each other with their cutters lined up. By sliding the top piece along the cut line, the bottom piece drags along, and the cutters score both paper faces. As you finish a cut and run the tool off the other edge of the sheet, the hinged legs spring out, and the two halves reconnect, ready for the next cut.
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