Manufacturer Hand Tools sent people to investigate jobsites and noticed that many workers were using kitchen knives to cut insulation.
The longer blade and the ability to sharpen as needed did give the kitchen knife an edge, but Hand Tools wanted to upgrade for this everyday, domestic utensil to make it more durable for the jobsite.
They result was the Milwaukee Insulation knife and Milwaukee Duct Knife. They do still look like kitchen knives, but with a full tang in the handle to make sure it would last long. The steel was also optimized for cutting foam, fiberglass, mineral wool, styrene, and foam rubber.