REVIEW – I have used hobby knives since I started building model airplanes in my pre-teens. I’ve since had decades of mishaps and frustration caused by my general clumsiness and dull knives. Lately, my 3D print farm production has required quite a bit of post-processing with various tools including hobby knives, so I jumped at the chance to review the HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $149-338 ($218 Creator Combo reviewed)
Where to buy: HOZO or Amazon
What is it?
The HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife is a rechargeable hobby knife that cuts through a variety of materials with ease thanks to ultrasonic vibrations. An active cooling fan keeps the knife running through the inevitable heat generated by said vibrations, and up to 40 watts of cutting power can get through materials ranging from plastic to leather to wood (and everything in between).
What’s included?
- HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife
- 6 blade sample kit (6 various shapes)
- Charging dock (included with Creator and Premium combos)
- Blade collection (Included with Creator combo – 70 total blades, 6 types)
Tech specs
- Dimensions: 224x33x26mm(8.8×1.3×1.0 inch)
- Materials: Aluminium Alloy,NyLon+Fiber Glass,ABS
- Operating Temp: 0-60°C
- Frequency: 40,000Hz
- Power Rate: 9W-40W (Adaptive)
- Cooling: Vortex Fan
- Fan Speed: 13,000RPM
- Charging Voltage: 7.4V
- Battery Capacity: 2*1300mAh
- Charging Method: TurboDock/PD USB-C 12V 2.5A
- Charging Time: Fast Charging-30min/Wired Charging-60min
Design and features
The HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife looks like a hobby knife with a toddler-friendly grip wrapped around it (I’m deep in toddler world with an active 3-year-old consuming most of my time these days). The build quality on the review unit sent to me feels good. The aluminum casing didn’t get hot even with extended use thanks to the cooling fan.
The business end of the knife has a multifunction power switch – slide away from the blade for continuous use, or press inwards and hold for temporary use. It does shut off after a few minutes if used continuously for safety.
The battery pack (2 included in all combo options) twists on and off, and this twist action includes a physical on/off switch for extra safety (if the battery is in the off position, you can’t accidentally trigger the ultrasonic cutter, though you still want to be careful with the sharp blade). There’s a USB-C charging port on the Neoblade itself, as well as metal pins to charge in the optional charging dock.
Speaking of the charging dock, the Premium and Creator combos include this dock, which stores and charges both the HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife as well as the extra battery. This is very handy, as you can use the knife while the other battery charges, and then swap them out as needed. Charging is sped up from 60 minutes with the USB-C cable to 30 minutes in the dock as well.
Finally, HOZO sent some sample blades along with the Premium combo for testing, including a 20 pack of standard blades. The magnetic dispensor is quite handy, and there’s a safe disposal slot as well in the top of the dispensor. Changing blades is easy and fast with the included blade change tool, and replacement packs are $29 shipped for 20 blades (at time of review).
Assembly, Installation, Setup
Setup is as simple as charging the HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife with the USB-C cable or in the dock, depending on which you select.
There are status LED lights that show charge state for the knife as well as the backup battery, which is handy.
Performance
I tested the HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife with a variety of materials including paper, cardboard, plastic (3D printed plastic models in PLA and PETG), and even wood. For all of those materials the HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife cut right through (unless they were thick). For most materials, the knife slides right through like butter. Plastic was the exception, where it melted more than cut, sometimes creating globby messes as it went. It cut right through plastic with no issues, but getting the cut pieces away from the rest of the plastic can get tricky, depending on the model. I often had the cut pieces just re-melt in a different spot while trying to get them off. I was a bit bummed about this, as cleaning up 3D printed plastic models is my primary use case for this knife, but it will be nice to have in the shop for all sorts of other projects in the future.
The video above shows cutting with plastic and thicker wood. The wood requires quite a bit of muscle to cut with my usual hobby knife, but the HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife went right through it with a fraction of the muscle I usually would use (albeit with a bit of smoke and scorching). You can see in the video above some of the plastic behavior when being cut as well, though my caffeine shakes probably don’t help.
Something important to note is that the HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife makes a fairly loud high-pitched noise when in use. It didn’t bother me, but my wife says it’s as bad as nails on chalkboard for her, so if you’re sensitive to some noises that’s something to watch for.
Final thoughts
The HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife is an impressive piece of ultrasonic cutting power. For many makers it would be a huge time (and hand) saver, depending on what you use your knives for. The good build quality and handy fast battery recharging station is great, and it feels like it will last for a long time based on the sessions I’ve spent with it so far.
What I like about the HOZO Neoblade ultrasonic hobby knife
- Cuts through most crafting materials with ease, especially compared to a similar-sized non-ultrasonic hobby knife.
- Comfortable to hold (in most situations)
- Quick swappable batteries and charging station are handy (only included on the Creator/Premium combos)
What needs to be improved?
- For some projects, the thick shape of the knife can make it hard to cut (keep your long and thin hobby knife handy for these situations)
- The heat generated will melt plastic which can get messy
- Although it’s pretty light for what it does, I do wish it was somehow lighter and thinner (maybe a V2 can get there someday!)
Price: $149-338 ($218 Creator Combo reviewed)
Where to buy: HOZO or Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by HOZO. HOZO did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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