Materials

I am usually not very picky about what materials I use, as long as it all works.  I will grab any pair of scissors that are sharp enough to cut through duct tape and will use any crochet hooks and knitting needles I see first.  However, I am very picky about which kind of duct tape I use.  Like most people, I use the Duck Brand duct tape.  I find it the best quality duct tape I can buy.

I have rarely used other brands of duct tape because I love the Duck Brand duct tape so much.  From what I have observed, other brands are stiffer and have a more plasticky feeling to them.  Duck Brand duct tape breaks in overtime, shaped and bent by the contents of whatever the duct tape item is holding.  The wallets I have seen made from other brands were rigid, even after months of use.

The other fault that I find with other brands of duct tape is that it is not as durable.  Because of the inflexibility of those brands of duct tape, they rip easily, creating holes and tears that can only be fixed by adding more duct tape.  With the duct tape I use, I have never had holes or tears, just occasional thinning on the little corners caused from folded edges.  The pencil case I made two years ago is still in use today in near perfect condition.

The only downside of using Duck Brand duct tape is that their printed and pattern duct tape rolls are severely overpriced.  Some of the patterns and printed tape cost the same as the color rolls, but only offer half the amount, and some of the printed duct tape is twice the cost for an even smaller amount!  I refuse to pay so much for so little.