The Humble Utility Knife.

[Chako]

Camillus Crossfire Blackie Collins Designed Utility Knife.

I received this one from fellow member Bluedot. I hadn't seen this one before, and it would appear to be discontinued. The fact that it was designed by Blackie Collins is rather cool. It does have some oddity to it. For example, this is a utility knife like no other. The way the knife holds onto the blade is unique, as well as the way you access the rear blade storage compartment. The knife is made of textured plastic.This makes the knife very light, but also very grippy. The included plastic pocket clip is ok due to its width. Somewhat unique is the knife carrier locking mechanism which you must pull back to unlock the knife. This I like better than those push button locking mechanisms as well as those liner locks.

Pros:
- built in blade storage compartment
- blade carrier locking mechanism is excellent
- ergonomics and sure grip texture

Cons:
- all plastic
- utility blade holder requires a lot of screwing out to unlock the blade, and screwing in to lock it down
- blade storage is limited in capacity due to design

Overall, the coolest thing about this knife is the designer. It is not a terrible utility knife, but I much prefer a heavier all metal construction with an easier to use blade swapping mechanism.

[Chako]

Generic Snap-Off Blade Utility Knife.

I don't tend to collect snap-off bladed utility knives, preferring to concentrate on folders, or fixed  utility knifes that use replaceable blades. I did get this one on sale, and when I took a closer look, I was surprised that there are no blade locking mechanisms on this model. Usualy, the sliding button will have a pull apart piece that locks the blade in position. Nothing like that on this very basic knife.

Pros:
- cheap
- a good size and comfortable in the hand
- can buy extra blades for this knife

Cons:
- snap-off blade system
- no locking mechanism for the blade

Overall, for the price I paid for this one, my expectations were not high. It is serviceable and for the price, throwing it away once the blades are done isn't much of a hardship. You could also have a conscience and reload a new blade into this knife to re-use it.

[Chako]

Benchmark Saw and Utility Knife Kit.

This kit offers something that not many utility knives can, and that is the use of universal tang reciprocating saw blades. It does this by being a bit of a transformer. To convert the knife from a utility knife to saw requires opening the knife, and moving two bits to accept saw blades. The whole process takes seconds, and is easily reversible in case you want to get back to the utility knife function. The blade does not retract into the knife handle meaning using this knife is a bit dangerous.

This set comes with a 8" general purpose saw blade, drywall saw blade, 6" hacksaw blade,Protective blade box, and 5 utility knife blades.

Pros:
- functional
- ergonomic with grippy rubber handle sections
- blade storage included via a separate box

Cons:
- Little magnet gets in the way
- opening and closing knife can be a pain
- utility blade sticks out unprotected and dangerous

Overall a neat way to expand your functionality. Makes a  handy little saw.

[Chako]

Stanley 10-989 Swivel-Lock Utility Knife.

Painted a nice bright yellow, the Stanley Swivel-Lock is an idea that has issues. When I first got this knife, it jammed on me and I couldn't open it for the love of anything. Apparently, you need to push the blade fully out, and then push in a rear located black plastic disk in. After that, simply grab the halves and scissor them open. The tool is supposed to pivot around a central axis which allows you access to exchanging the blade, and also the rear blade storage compartment. The problem was that I didn't fully push the blade out that first time. I thought it was there, but it hung up slightly. This meant I couldn't open the knife at all. After several minutes of pushing, prodding, and much swearing, I finally got it opened. This seems to be a design weakness in my opinion.

Pros:
- blade storage in handle
- no tools required to get in

Cons:
- may get locked out if blade not fully seated forward

Overall, this knife has some issues, or at least, issues for me. Maybe if I had seated the blade fully forward before trying to open it, I would have a different opinion. Might be due to user error, but it was very easy to do.

[Chako]

TOOLBASIX Utility Knife.

Here is a very basic non-folding utility knife. I assumed there would be a hidden blade storage in this knife. I was wrong. After getting in, it was difficult to put this one back together as the blade sliding mechanism sprung outwards with some force. Getting it back in was a bit of a shore. This is a painful way of having to replace used blades.

Pros:
- Price...it was dirt cheap
- all metal construction

Cons:
- high sliding button can get caught in other things
- must open knife to replace blade
- Blade carrier has a propensity to fly out and fight being returned to home

Overall, here is a basic utility knife that offers no frills including an easy blade swapping experience.

[Chako]

Craftsman Utility Knife.

The local Sears is closing down. Right now, the whole store is in a 20 to 50% non-refund sale. I spied this model and got 20% off the asking price. Funny how I have visited Sears many times recently, and have never seen this knife before. They must have found a box stashed somewhere in storage. The knife is of the button press style locking mechanism for the blade carrier. I much prefer a lock-back, or even a liner lock over this type of mechanism. With that said, the utility knife does feature a carabiner that is built in. A necessity considering this knife does not have a pocket clip.

Pros:
- carabiner
- blade swapping mechanism is easy to use

Cons:
- button style locking mechanism. not a big fan...but this is a personal preference
- no pocket clip

Overall, this is probably the last Sears branded utility knife I will ever buy at the local Sears. That kinda makes me sad. Not a bad little knife. The pivot action is slick, and the included carabiner is needed due to the lack of a pocket clip.

[Chako]

Unknown Safety Utility Knife.

I have a love hate relationship with safety utility knives. Folks keep trying to make the utility knife as safe as possible for the end user, but quite often, the safety features get in the way of using the knife. This one is no exception. First off, this is one of those auto retract blades, meaning you have to apply constant pressure to the thumb button to expose the blade. Not only that, but you get an honest to goodness hand-guard. There is a rear button that unlocks the hand-guard. I figured this was where the extra blades might be found. To my disappointment, I found out that there are no hidden extra blades. That rear button simply unlocks the hand-guard to make the whole knife easier to hang on a peg. Yeah, I wish I was kidding about that um...er...feature.

Pros:
- ergonomics are good

Cons:
- useless hand-guard unlocking feature
- constant pressure to use the knife
- no blade storage compartment
- blade swapping a chore

Overall, another safety knife that tries to protect the user from itself.





See that notch? You need to push the slider button to that location, which will allow you to swap the blade.

[ToolJoe]

Gerber EAB gets my vote. I probably have two or three other utility knives placed throughout the garage and house for use.

[King_Gorilla]

I like that black Craftsman one.   

[WoodsDuck]

Did I hear someone mention Olfa? 
I likes me some Olfa knives! 

[Chako]

 

[Ron Who]

Some of my former employers would not allow any blades but the ones they supplied themselves. Usually one of these. The plastic Stanley clone is OK.

[pomsbz]

Stanley 99E Sliding Utility Knife.

Here is something for the more traditional user. The Stanley 99E has been around for ages, and is the type of knife many people think of when they think of a utility knife. Made from all metal construction with room to store extra blades in the handle, this knife is heavy duty. The sliding mechanism is smooth and the thumb button won't snag because it doesn't stick out from the body much. The biggest issue with this knife, is you will need a screw driver to do blade exchanges as the body is held together by a single screw.

Pros:
- all metal construction
- heavy duty

Cons:
- need a screw driver to open the knife up

Overall, it is knives like the Stanley 99E that has been around forever that are the foundations for many people calling a utility knife, a "Stanley". You can't go wrong with this knife. It doesn't offer many fancy features, but what it does offer is rock solid.

I grew up with this one. The reason I still refer to these kinds of knives as 'Stanley knives'. Whenever my dad would be doing DIY or working in the basement on his projects, this would be in the breast pocket of his overalls.

Interestingly out here they refer to utility knives as 'Japanese knives'. Not sure why. Any ideas where it might have come from?

[Chako]

I have never heard of a utility knife being called that here. 

Take a look at this wiki page on the utility knife. I wish it did give an explanation for the naming.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_knife

Names[edit]
In British, Australian and New Zealand English, along with Dutch and Austrian German, a utility knife frequently used in the construction industry is known as a Stanley knife.[2] This name is a genericised trademark named after Stanley Works, a manufacturer of such knives. In Israel and Switzerland, these knives are known as Japanese knives. In Brazil they are known as estiletes or cortadores Olfa (the latter, being another genericised trademark).[citation needed] In Portugal and Canada they are also known as X-Acto (yet another genericised trademark). In India, the Philippines, France, Italy, Egypt, and Germany, they are simply called cutter.[citation needed] In the Flemish region of Belgium it is called cuttermes(je) (cutter knife).[citation needed] In general Spanish, they are known as cortaplumas (penknife, when it comes to folding blades);[citation needed] in Spain, Mexico, and Costa Rica, they are colloquially known as cutters; in Argentina and Uruguay the segmented fixed-blade knives are known as "Trinchetas".[citation needed] In Turkey, they are known as maket bıçağı (which literally translates as model knife).[3]

Other names for the tool are box cutter or boxcutter, razor blade knife, razor knife, carpet knife, pen knife, stationery knife, sheetrock knife, or drywall knife.

[Etherealicer]

I have never heard of a utility knife being called that here. 

Take a look at this wiki page on the utility knife. I wish it did give an explanation for the naming.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_knife

Names[edit]
In British, Australian and New Zealand English, along with Dutch and Austrian German, a utility knife frequently used in the construction industry is known as a Stanley knife.[2] This name is a genericised trademark named after Stanley Works, a manufacturer of such knives. In Israel and Switzerland, these knives are known as Japanese knives. In Brazil they are known as estiletes or cortadores Olfa (the latter, being another genericised trademark).[citation needed] In Portugal and Canada they are also known as X-Acto (yet another genericised trademark). In India, the Philippines, France, Italy, Egypt, and Germany, they are simply called cutter.[citation needed] In the Flemish region of Belgium it is called cuttermes(je) (cutter knife).[citation needed] In general Spanish, they are known as cortaplumas (penknife, when it comes to folding blades);[citation needed] in Spain, Mexico, and Costa Rica, they are colloquially known as cutters; in Argentina and Uruguay the segmented fixed-blade knives are known as "Trinchetas".[citation needed] In Turkey, they are known as maket bıçağı (which literally translates as model knife).[3]

Other names for the tool are box cutter or boxcutter, razor blade knife, razor knife, carpet knife, pen knife, stationery knife, sheetrock knife, or drywall knife.

Switzerland
Japanmesser (Japanese knife): is only the ones with the break-off blades. Probably because the early models were all imported from Japan as they were invented independently by OLFA and NT (both Japanese companies). I think the earlier version were more for paper-cutting and the heavy duty came later.
Teppichmesser (carpet knife): Is what we common call the utility knives with the trapeze style blade

[ThePeacent]

I prefer metal construction for the non-clippable ones.
Sure, the sturdy feel and strong confidence-inspiring all metal handles are nice, but the weight penalty is often excessive

[pomsbz]

I have never heard of a utility knife being called that here. 

Take a look at this wiki page on the utility knife. I wish it did give an explanation for the naming.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_knife

Names[edit]
In British, Australian and New Zealand English, along with Dutch and Austrian German, a utility knife frequently used in the construction industry is known as a Stanley knife.[2] This name is a genericised trademark named after Stanley Works, a manufacturer of such knives. In Israel and Switzerland, these knives are known as Japanese knives. In Brazil they are known as estiletes or cortadores Olfa (the latter, being another genericised trademark).[citation needed] In Portugal and Canada they are also known as X-Acto (yet another genericised trademark). In India, the Philippines, France, Italy, Egypt, and Germany, they are simply called cutter.[citation needed] In the Flemish region of Belgium it is called cuttermes(je) (cutter knife).[citation needed] In general Spanish, they are known as cortaplumas (penknife, when it comes to folding blades);[citation needed] in Spain, Mexico, and Costa Rica, they are colloquially known as cutters; in Argentina and Uruguay the segmented fixed-blade knives are known as "Trinchetas".[citation needed] In Turkey, they are known as maket bıçağı (which literally translates as model knife).[3]

Other names for the tool are box cutter or boxcutter, razor blade knife, razor knife, carpet knife, pen knife, stationery knife, sheetrock knife, or drywall knife.

Switzerland
Japanmesser (Japanese knife): is only the ones with the break-off blades. Probably because the early models were all imported from Japan as they were invented independently by OLFA and NT (both Japanese companies). I think the earlier version were more for paper-cutting and the heavy duty came later.
Teppichmesser (carpet knife): Is what we common call the utility knives with the trapeze style blade

I'd assumed that it was due to the origin, didn't know it was in reference to the break off blade concept though. I assume the general nickname grew to cover all the styles here.