Safety Knives

Safety knives, often referred to as utility knives or Stanley knives (although the latter is a brand name) are a common tool in various applications. Cromwell stack a wide range of safety knives from big name brands such as Stanley, Granton and Martor, so you can be assured of quality tooling.

What are safety knives?

Safety knives come in various forms and are suitable (depending on the design) for various applications. They feature thin, razor-sharp blades that offer precise cuts. You can commonly find these types of knives attached to the toolbelts of tradespeople.

Why safety knives?

There are several benefits to safety knives, the key point would be in their name. Safety knives have the advantage of having either a fold away or retractable blade, which is often adjustable allowing as much or as little extension as necessary.

Types of safety knives

• Retractable - These types of knives have a sliding mechanism that pushes the blade outwards when in use and retracts it when not in use. The mechanism slots into place securing the blade in the desired position.

• Folding - These types typically feature a fixed blade that folds into the handle when not in use.

• Fixed - Locks the blade into a fixed non retractable position, they have the added benefit of being compatible with blades that would otherwise be too large to fold into the handle.

• Snap-off - Much like a retractable knife except these are typically lighter duty and feature segmented blades designed to be snapped off once worn down.

Considerations when choosing a safety knife

• Grip - Many safety and utility knives feature an ergonomic grip handle for user comfort.

• Retractable or fixed? - This will depend on the application you which to use the knife in. For many light to medium duty applications a folding or retractable knife will suffice. For tougher cutting jobs a fixed blade can allow for greater stability when cutting. The downside of this is that it takes time and effort to load and release the blade before and after use, making it less accessible to use.

• Types of blade - Some types of blades like snap-offs are less useful for tougher cutting applications due to their lighter weight construction. Housing this type of blade in a heavily constructed knife body could cause issues with cutting and even break or bend the blade. When selecting the right knife ensure that the types of blades you will require are compatible with the knife.

FAQ

Which safety knife blades will I need?

Blades come in a rage of shapes and sizes. When looking to replace the blade in your knife ensure that you pick the right size in accordance to your knife.

Is a safety knife and a Stanley knife the same thing?

In short, yes. Stanley is a brand name and the quality of their knives were so sought after that they became synonymous with safety knives. Much like Hoover did with vacuum cleaners and Velcro did with hook and loop fastenings. However, the correct term for a knife of this style is safety knife or utility knife.