Hi, Jeff Vaughan here for Safety Knives and Cutters. Here to talk to you today about self-retracting
blade safety knives. The ones I have selected for today are used primarily for warehouse
application, cardboard cutting, and things like that.
Self-retracting blades or automatic safety blades have been around a long time. They
started years ago, like this model right here that has a spring-loaded hood that automatically
covers the blade. They afford you some protection, but they're not fool-proof. You'll see
with my thumb, I can expose the blade, and this isn't completely safe, but it is certainly
safer than a standard utility knife that somebody might use for cutting a box. You'll notice
here the way it's designed to be used is if you push down,
the spring-loaded hood gets out of the way and you're allowed to make a cut.
Now, this particular product called the lizard knife takes off on that same concept. It has
a spring-loaded hood, and this one is a little different than the first one I showed you.
This is a semi-disposable product, there's no way to change the blade; when the blade's
dull, you discard the whole unit. That reduces the risk of cuts from changing blades, which
actually happens fairly commonly. It also helps to reduce blade contamination in products
or production facilities, especially food service. So, this is a good product for that
application. Same concept, the hood moves out of the way when you apply pressure, and
then the blade is not exposed when you lift away. You can circumvent the safety part of
this by pulling it back. So again, it's not fool-proof, but it is better than standard
utility knives. Here's a little bit different model. This
is a metal safety cutter, spring loaded. The important thing to point out about these,
they're actuated with a trigger or a lever. You'll notice my thumb is doing that. But
what you'll want to do, and what you'll want to train employees to do with this particular
knife is to take their thumb away once the blade is in the cardboard, like this. And
then as it cuts and it comes away from the cardboard, it automatically retracts. Again,
this can be circumvented. If you don't take your thumb off and you're cutting, this
could then injure yourself or somebody else if you don't take your thumb off. So again,
there's some training that's required in using knives like this. Take my thumb away,
cut. That way if the knife comes away suddenly, I'm not going to cut myself. So, that's
the basic idea. And there are various iterations of that type of knife available on the market.
Here's a really cool from a company called Slice. What they've done is they have taken
that same concept and they've put it in this unique ergonomic design, and they used
a ceramic blade, which has ten times the lifespan of a steel blade. So, here's a ceramic blade
box cutter, in fact the first one ever in industry. So, pretty unique product, but the
same concept applies when you put the blade in contact what you're cutting. You should
slide your thumb away, so that when this comes towards you, it automatically retracts, same
concept. Then Pacific Handy Cutter has done the same
thing with one of the staples of their line. This is the S4 safety knife, and it's self-retracting,
spring loaded. Again, the same concept; the thumb needs to be pulled away when cutting
so that it'll self-retract. This one has a tray and a carton-cutting appendage on the
end of it that which is really nice for cutting tops of boxes off. Pretty popular knife, has
good safety features. Now this little yellow guy is the CU Safe,
C-U Safety Knife. This knife is actually been around for a number of years and has gone
through several design changes, and is really an exceptional knife that we sell quite a
few of actually. A little bit different concept, instead of having a self-retracting blade,
it has a hood that self-retracts like these earlier models I showed you. But this is a
little more fool-proof. The way it works is that it has a lever. When this lever is pushed,
you get one release of the hood. So you see I'm pushing the lever. Now, when I contact
the cardboard, it's going to cut, but when I release and try to do another cut, I can't.
I have to release the lever that gives me the opportunity to do a new cut, so I push
it again. I'm going to get one release of the hood for cutting, and now I can't until
I release and press the trigger again. This is a great design. If somebody is using this,
and for some reason this comes away from the cardboard, and they shouldn't be cutting
towards themselves, but if they happen to, they're not to cut themselves open because
the hood has engaged and it protects them from the blade. So, great design. This like
the lizard safety knife is a semi-disposable product; no need to ever change the blade.
You don't have to worry about the risks of somebody fumbling with the blade and cutting
themselves. When it's dull, you discard it and you get a new one. And the nice thing
is the price point on these is low enough that it's not going to break the bank to
have a nice safety knife program. The last one I'm going to show you is the
MARTego Safety Knife. This is similar to some of the others in some regards, but it has
a little bit different action. There's a locking mechanism; you'll see in the handle
here that when you depress releases the blade and allow you to when you pull the trigger,
the blade will come out. But check this out, when you get into the cardboard and you start
cutting, when you come away, it releases, even though you're depressing the trigger.
So the blade is gone, not going to hurt yourself, and you have to press this to get a new cut
and have the blade come out. So, similar concept little bit different for an application, nicely
designed knife. So these are a few examples of some of the
self-retracting safety knives that we have available on safetyknivesandcutters.com. Also,
cool safetyproducts.com, a couple great sites where you can purchase these. And we encourage you
to take a look at these and consider using them to reduce cuts and injuries in your work
place safety program. Thanks for watching! I'm Safety Jeff; we'll
catch you next time!