nancy275•22d agoProlific Poster

Tested two different knee kickers back to back on a living room job yesterday

I had this living room in Phoenix where the customer wanted a tight stretch on some 80 ounce carpet. I usually use my old Roberts with the metal head but I grabbed my buddy's Crain with the rubber grip to compare. The Roberts felt like it was bouncing off the pad and I kept having to readjust every two feet. The Crain just grabbed the carpet smooth and I did the whole 12x15 room in maybe 20 minutes without going back to fix anything. I think the extra weight and the way the Crain's teeth bite makes a huge difference on thicker carpets. Has anyone else noticed a big gap between brands on the dense stuff or is it just in my head?

2 comments

2 Comments

sage_perry21d ago

Read a thread on the Flooring Forum the other day where this old timer installer claimed the Crain knee kicker design was actually copied from some German tool from the 60s but they made the head heavier intentionally. Makes sense when you think about it because the extra weight helps drive those teeth into the backing without bouncing. I tried messing with the Roberts adjustment like you said on a commercial job once and it still felt loose compared to the Crain. The metal head on my old one just doesn't have enough mass behind it.

lewis.diana22d ago

Did you try setting the Roberts head lower so the teeth dig in more? I've had that same problem on dense carpet and a quick adjustment fixed it for me.