Duck Brand Standard Packaging Tape Refills – 4 Extra Long Rolls of Clear Packing Tape – Shipping, Mailing and Moving Supplies – 3″ Core – 1.88 Inch x 100 Yards, Clear (240593)

From a personal perspective, I’ve owned and/or used a number of tape guns and box sealers of varying types and prices over a number of years. Some have admittedly been dollar store thrash that barely lasted the first roll, to a high-end automatic commercial/industrial tape dispenser that I borrowed for a large moving job. But this time I was looking for a practical product to replace an old favorite.Bought thisDuck Brand Standard Tape Gun with Foam Handlehere after using on that belonged to a local friend. It included one 54-yard roll of Duck Brand clear standard tape, but that’s an issue that I’ll address here later. This is a good product that met my expectations based on experience.◆ Good Parts: Sturdy construction; painted steel chassis Foam covered handle; built for comfort in use Red tension control knob; highly adjustable Extra-sharp blade; cuts tapes to 2-inch wide easily Can be used with longer 109-yard tapes; 54-yard is standard◆ Not So Good:- Standard 1.6 mil packing tape is way too thin◆ In Use:This Duck Brand Standard Tape Gun comes with a black plastic shield covering the blade. Be sure to remove this before you use it, and if you have kids around you want to keep it handy as that blase with its serrated teeth is very sharp. I taped the shield to the side of the tape gun to keep it handy.Loading the tape is fairly easy, once you get the hang of it. Place the tape gun on it’s side with the red tension control knob in the up position. Insert the roll of tape in the gun by sliding the cardboard core onto the large retaining wheel, and be sure that the tape is in position so that the free end is positioned in a counter-clockwise direction.The tape feeds in between the roller and the metal bar that’s located below the roller. Just be sure the tape is positioned so that the free end is positioned in a counterclockwise direction. Extend the tape up to the nose of the tape gun to a point just below the serrated cutting teeth are located. The tape tension can be easily adjusted with the red tension control knob.A personal caveat: I found the standard 1.6 mil packaging tape that came with this gun to be far too flimsy for packaging use, even for storage purposes. Bought theScotch Long Lasting Moving & Storage Packaging Tape, 1.88 Inches x 54.6 Yardshere based on prior use. It’s a medium-strength tape, suited for moving and storage, and at a thickness 2.4 mil, this US-made tape is just thick enough to work well and quite smoothly with this tape gun. Duck Brand also makes thicker tapes than the one that come with this tape gun should you prefer.Note: I was originally looking for my old favorite, one similar to theScotch Box Sealing Tape Dispenser H180, 2 in. This one had served me well for years until is was “borrowed” by a friend who was moving and forgot to return it. These things happen, but in terms of functionality and use, I’ve found this Duck Brand model to be its equal.◆ Summary:TheDuck Brand Standard Tape Gun with Foam Handlehas proven to be a good purchase, and it’s been in use for a few months now. It’s comfortable to use and offers a good range on its tension control knob. Caveat aside, the original tape that came with it ended up being used for some trash that was being discarded, so please bear in mind that my review is based on the tape gun itself, and solely that. Just get some decent quality tape that’s thick to fit your needs and all should be fine. And note that the serrated teeth on the blade are very sharp, so it should only be used by adults with care.JW ▪ 7/26/2013