If you are reading this post chances are that you were a user of Carder Tools. With good reason, we believe. Many were trained and certified with Carder Tools. They made some of the most practical, reliable, and well designed tools in the industry. However, Carder Industries is no longer manufacturing tools. This has created a niche that other companies have stepped up to fill. We have compiled a list of Carder's most popular tools and the best replacements we could find.

The Carder 110 Pop-Up Knife

Of all of Carder's tools, this is the one we get the most questions about. The convenient thumbscrew design, low profile, and negligible price made this a very popular knife when it was being manufactured by Carder Industries. The best analogue we have found is the Gundlach 154 Hinged Carpet Knife. Both knives are proudly made in the USA and feature a low profile and internal carpet blade storage with a thumb screw. The only difference (other than the branding on the side) is that the thumb screw on the Gundlach 154 knife is a slightly different shape. Instead of the bar style of the Carder 110 Pop Up Knife, the Gundlach knife has a flat thumbscrew. Other than that one difference they are identical.

Carder 112 Swinger Knife

Another one of Carder's most popular items was the Carder 112 Swinger Knife. It featured an innovative opening design which allowed quick blade changing while remaining comfortable in the hand. The best replacement for this tool is the Gundlach 112 Swinger Knife. The Gundlach 112 Swinger is identical to Carder's design in every way except for the finish. The Swinger from Gundlach comes in a sleek black finish instead of Carder's original unfinished aluminum color.

Carder 109 Row Finder

This innovative row finder lets the installer track rows by using a sawing motion. This is especially helpful on carpets with loop piles that may be troublesome for traditional row finders. While no one makes a direct immatation of this tool, the closest we can find is the Crain 366 Row Finder. The Crain 366 Row Finder offers one small improvement: the metal edge is shorter. This allows the tool to easily stand up in any type of carpet, even low grade commercial carpets. 

Carder 122 Cushion Back Cutter

The Carder 122 Cushion Back Cutter was one of the most well-engineered top cutters available at the time. The single piece design greatly reduced the risk of losing the screw and rendering the tool usless until a replacement could be ordered. The best available tool like the Carder 122 Cushion Back Cutter is the Crain 301 Cushion Back Cutter. The biggest difference on the Crain 301 Cushion Back Cutter is going to be the feeling inthe hand; The Crain cutter has a plastic handle while the Carder cutter had a wooden handle. The shape of the tool is also slightly different but not in any kind of significant way. The Crain 301 is what we use in our custom rug shop here at Pre-Floor as it is the most reliable and well made top cutter on the market.

Carder 171 Combination Scriber

This small handheld scriber from Carder is now available from Crain as the Crain 370 Recess Scriber. The two tools are identical in design. The replacement pins form Crain will fit the Carder 171 recess scriber.

Carder 128 Vinyl Edge Trimmer

The Carder 128 Vinyl Edge Trimmer is succeeded by the Crain 340 Selvage Edge Trimmer. The two tools are identical, right down to the replacement blade design.