Safety knife
Safety knives are knives with short blades two to three centimeters long that are used to open packaging made of cardboard or plastic. An essential feature is that the blade is held under spring tension in the handle and is pushed and held in the working position by means of a slide or button . After releasing the slide / button, the blade jumps back into the handle.
The purpose of the device is to only inspect the blade and expose it for work. This largely prevents injuries from open blades or accidentally opening the knife.
The shape of the blade is usually similar to that of a box cutter .
Three levels of security
A safety knife is a versatile work tool that can be used for cutting or processing numerous materials such as paper, cardboard or foil. It consists of a handle and a blade that emerges from the handle body through a slider or other mechanism. There are three security levels that are characterized by different technologies.
Security class 0: Simple cutter knives or carpet knives
Security level 0 hardly provides any protection. This class includes the simple box knives and utility knives.
In order to be able to use the safety knife, it is necessary to slide out the actual blade. The cutter knives are often made of plastic and have a "snap-off blade" to replace the cutting surface with a predetermined breaking point if this has become blunt.
Unfortunately, the use of these cutter knives often leads to accidents. The blades can break unintentionally under the action of force even during the cutting process and thus represent a safety risk. Furthermore, these knives do not have a spring bearing for the blade, which automatically pulls the blade back into the shaft. There is therefore a risk that blades can lie around openly at the workplace, which is another potential hazard.
1st security level
The first security level guarantees security through an automatic, spring-loaded blade retraction. This falls into the category of CTE technology, the blade retraction is accordingly dependent on the will. The pusher must first be operated in order to slide out the blade for the cutting process. If the lever is no longer pressed or the knife is put down, the blade moves back again. During the cutting, the finger must be taken off the slide in order to trigger this safety technology. Due to the pulling cut and the contact of the blade with the material to be cut, it is not necessary to push the slide forwards during the entire cutting process. When this safety technology is triggered, the tension spring is set in motion in the event that the item to be sliced slips, causing the blade to retract.
2nd security level
The second security level is characterized by the WUK technology. The voluntary blade retraction is also triggered when the blade comes into contact with the material to be cut or processed, but the finger does not have to be actively removed from the slide during the cutting process. Even if the operating lever is held down, the blade is retracted again if the cutting process is interrupted. This second stage can thus be described as a fully automatic blade retraction. In the case of a knife with a blade that can be retracted and extended, this technology provides maximum protection when cutting.
3rd security level
The third and highest security level is the method of the concealed blade. It is almost impossible to injure yourself during a cutting process, so the risk of accidents is further reduced. The non-exposed blade of the safety knife can result in some restrictions in the use of the cutting tool, but the risk of accidents is almost completely averted at this safety level.