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Filling knife vs stripping knife: the blade in the title

Updated: October 2026

You have an amazon.co.uk tab open on a wallpaper scraper that also says putty knife. A filling knife vs stripping knife choice is about stiffness, not about the word scraper in the title. The thin blade is there to press filler in and wipe it level. The stiff blade is there to lift paper once the paste has let go. The twelve listings and their shelf prices are on our [wallpaper scraper](/hub/painting-supplies/wallpaper-scraper) comparison, from amazon.co.uk files dated 16 October 2026. There is no lab flex test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Width, handle and price bands sit on the [wallpaper scraper buying guide](/hub/painting-supplies/wallpaper-scraper/sub/wallpaper-scraper-buying-guide).

You have an amazon.co.uk tab open on a wallpaper scraper that also says putty knife. A filling knife vs stripping knife choice is about stiffness, not about the word scraper in the title.

Our top picks

huiziyi huiziyi 4-piece, 2–8 inch

Best overall

huiziyi huiziyi 4-piece, 2–8 inch
9.6/10about £5.99
View offer
KANGSIT KANGSIT 5-piece, 1–5 inch

Preis-Tipp

KANGSIT KANGSIT 5-piece, 1–5 inch
9.4/10about £5.89
View offer
Harris Harris Ultimate, 4 inch

Alternative

Harris Harris Ultimate, 4 inch
9.2/10about £6.73
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Same shape, different job
  2. 2.What the amazon sets actually print
  3. 3.What flex feels like on a wall
  4. 4.When to buy the set anyway

Same shape, different job

ProDec's Advance scraper page draws the line in one place: a filling knife is thinner and more flexible, a scraper is thicker and less flexible. Thomas Graham says a filling knife bends and skids when you ask it to lift old paint or wallpaper. Toolstation's FAQ says a putty knife can do light scraping and a stripping knife is the better tool for heavy removal. The prices on those pages are not amazon.co.uk prices. You can scrape with a filling knife, and you will struggle to fill with a stiff stripping knife. Light paper that has already soaked will lift on a flexible blade. Heavy paint and paper that has not let go are where the flexible blade suffers. Read the thickness, then decide which of those jobs is yours.

What the amazon sets actually print

Three thicknesses are printed in this folder. KANGSIT, five pieces from 1 to 5 inch, prints 0.7 mm. qisheng and KZXXZH print 0.8 mm. huiziyi, 2, 4, 6 and 8 inch, prints 1.2 mm. Under 1 mm is the filling-knife side of ProDec's split, even when the title says wallpaper scraper. At 0.7 mm that is a wide, thin knife. It will spring when you push it under a stubborn sheet. 1.2 mm is not a free pass to the word stiff. huiziyi's bullet calls the steel flexible, and one review says the thickness sits between a scraper and a filler, with the 6 and 8 inch blades useful for filling rather than for practical scraping. Harris Ultimate, the single 4 inch stripping knife at £6.73, prints no thickness at all. Absence is not a hidden full tang. None of these twelve listings print that phrase.
huiziyi huiziyi 4-piece, 2–8 inch

Testsieger

huiziyi huiziyi 4-piece, 2–8 inch
9.6/10about £5.99
View offer

What flex feels like on a wall

A bowed blade is the millimetre, felt on the plaster. KANGSIT reviews, under a 4.7 from 208, describe a blade that bows so the edges miss the wall. You press the middle, the middle touches, and the corners either dig or do nothing. Burred edges cut while you are doing it. D.A.Y. Republic is the wooden three-piece at £3.99, 4.0 from 1,180 reviews, and the texts say the blades bend, including on steamed wallpaper, and that handles come off. It is sold as a stripping set. The behaviour is a flexible, light tool. A review of a bowed or bent blade is the thickness, in use.

When to buy the set anyway

Buy the flexible set when the weekend is holes, cracks and a light lift of paper you have already soaked. KANGSIT at £5.89 gives you 1 inch through 5 inch, if you accept the bow. huiziyi at £5.99 is the one to open when the large blade is for filler and the 2 inch or 4 inch is what you will use on paper. Buy Harris, B08C7G92NR, when the job is lifting paper and you do not need to spread filler with the same blade. Harris is one 4 inch alloy-steel knife, £6.73, 4.6 from 41 reviews, no thickness and no full-tang claim. If the paper is woodchip, painted, or several layers, stiffness does not replace moisture. The soak and the flat stroke are on the how to strip wallpaper page. Who each listing style is for is on the best wallpaper scraper page.

Common questions

Can a putty knife strip wallpaper?
It can lift paper that has already let go, which is the light-scraping use Toolstation's FAQ allows and the Forum decorator allows. It bends and skids on old paint or on paper you are forcing, which is Thomas Graham's warning. In this folder, 0.7 mm and 0.8 mm sets are that putty knife, whatever the title says. Soak first.
Can a stripping knife apply filler?
Poorly, if it is actually stiff. The Forum line is that you will struggle to fill with a rigid stripping knife, because the blade will not press the filler into the crack and wipe it level. Harris is sold as a stripping knife and prints no filler job. A set that claims both is usually the flexible one, and then the limit is the bow, not the filler.
What does 0.7 mm mean for this job?
KANGSIT prints 0.7 mm. That is under 1 mm, on the filling-knife side of ProDec's thicker-versus-thinner split. Reviews say the blade bows so the edges miss the wall. One text estimates about 0.8 mm. The bullet used here stays at 0.7 mm. It is a wide, thin knife for holes and for paper that is already soft.
Why do sets say both scraper and filler?
Because the maker is listing every job a flexible stainless blade might touch, including drywall, decals, plaster and wallpaper. The title is a search phrase. KZXXZH and Huangyihan sitting in Putty Knives is a clue to how Amazon filed them. It is not a measurement. Read the millimetre if it is printed, and treat a missing thickness as unknown, not as stiff.
Is 1.2 mm a stripping knife, and what is full tang?
huiziyi prints 1.2 mm and still calls the blade flexible. One review says it sits between a scraper and a filler, and that 6 and 8 inch are filling widths. Do not call 1.2 mm stiff without that limit. Full tang means the steel runs through the handle, which is how ProDec describes its low-flex scraper. None of the twelve listings print full tang. Harris does not either.
Which listings are the flexible ones, and when do I buy Harris?
qisheng, KANGSIT, KZXXZH, WOGOPRO, FANTESI, Huangyihan, huiziyi and the wooden D.A.Y. Republic trio are the flexible side of this folder. Harris, B08C7G92NR, at £6.73, is the single stripping knife. Buy Harris when you are lifting ordinary paper and you will fill with a different blade.

Related pages

Wallpaper stripper

Wallpaper scraper

Best wallpaper scraper for the wall you actually have

Wallpaper scraper buying guide for width and stiffness

How to strip wallpaper without gouging the plaster

Wallpaper scraper vs steamer: which one for this wall

Sources

Which?, DIY Doctor, Homebuilding, Harris, HSE on lead and on asbestos, Electrical Safety First, and ProDec. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines in the twelve listings dated 16 October 2026. Prices move.

  1. Which?, how to wallpaper (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. DIY Doctor, stripping wallpaper (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. Homebuilding, removing wallpaper (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. Harris, how to remove wallpaper (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. HSE, lead in construction (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. HSE, asbestos locations (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Electrical Safety First, wallpaper strippers (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. ProDec Advance 3 inch scraper (retrieved 16 October 2026)