Debate: knife seaming vs heat seaming for commercial jobs

I've been seaming carpets for 12 years, mostly in Denver office buildings. Last week I tried knife seaming a 12 foot roll of Mohawk Nylon in a busy hallway, and the seam took me 45 minutes longer than using my heat iron. But the knife seam looked cleaner than any heat seam I've done in the past 6 months. For you guys working in high traffic commercial spaces, do you prefer knife seams for durability even if it takes longer, or do you stick with heat seaming to save time?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_wren22d ago

Wait, 45 minutes longer for one seam? That's insane.

phoenix_carter21d ago

Lmao reminds me of trying to fix a zipper on an old jacket once. Took like an hour just to get the damn thing lined up right. But yeah 45 minutes extra for a seam, that's a whole other level.

the_angela9d ago

Yeah that "45 minutes for a seam" thing sounds wild... but honestly sometimes it really does take that long if the fabric is thick or the machine keeps skipping stitches. I've had a jacket hem take forever just because the needle wouldn't punch through the layers right. Patience is key though, you gotta let the machine do its thing or you'll end up with a mess.