Talk:Utility knife

Rest of the world?

I thought that a box cutter is just like a pair of scissors: An office tool that can be purchased by anyone who has enough age to go to a store alone and be considered "normal". Around here, in Chile, at least, it isn't considered "special". The view presented in this article (of the box cutter as a weapon) reflects more or less all the rest of the world? Or just USA and some other countries affected by terrorism? Of course it is used for crime sometimes, but so could be a scissor or a kitchen knife, yet I guess any 14-year old could purchase a scissor, no? --user:guruclef

Use as Weapons

I don't have this from a reliable source, more the notion on the street. Hence I'll put it here, and if someone can find research or statistics on the matter, that'd be great. Among teenagers on the clubbing scene in the UK, carrying a 'Segmented type' Stanley knife as a weapon has a specific purpose. You can extend it to four or five notches, stab someone a couple of times, and leave them for dead. BUT, people on the club scence are carrying knives because they think it's a good way to defend themself. They don't want to stab someone to death. A Stanley knife, on one 'notch', will cause pretty nasty damage, but nothing permanent.

In retrospect, this entry (or at least the phrasing) will seem a bit topical, I think. --Pinkunicorn

Yes, I think you're right. I created this because someone wikied the word on the main terrorist attack page, and I thought that might mean that some people might not know what a box cutter knife is. I used to work in a grocery store, so I knew. I suppose that we could remove the topical comment. -- Jimbo Wales

In fact, I didn't know. I changed it to be explicitly topicalm, which seemed more honest to me - this entry would never have existed without the attacks. --Fuzzrock

(Also, these remarks should be removed when someone decides what to do. :-))

I had no idea how this type of knife was created, so it was a useful entry, it was the bit about "carry-on luggage" that felt a bit too specialized. --Pinkunicorn

About self defending, if the guy who approaches you is way bigger and tougher than you are, he might seize the knife and stab you to death instead.

I clicked this because I did not know what a 'Box-cutter'-knife is; usefull entry

Sounds like what we in Australia would call a 'Stanley Knife', although I suspect 'Stanley' is probably a tradename. --Peter Jones

I believe Stanley Tools is based in New Britain, Connecticut, so in the U.S. we also often call such knives Stanley knives. Tho' my parents lived in Australia in the early 1960s and may have brought that name with them --Belltower

Peter is right, this is what Australians call a "stanley knife". This is a case where a trade name has become a generic phrase, like the verb "hoovering the carpet". Does this generification process have a name? I guess this subject belongs under one of the language pages, but I have no idea where. Manning

The process is called trademark dillution. Some products (Kleenex, Xerox copiers, Weed Eaters) have entered into common parlance, sometimes to the chagrin of the companies that own the marks. -- ansible

The actual Stanley Knives are of a slightly different design than the plastic-handled knives we are discussing, I think. An actual stanley knife (or faithful copy) has a different retraction mechanism, and rather than the multi-segment blades designed to be broken off and discarded segment by segment as they fail, stanley knife blades do not have multiple segments, but are simply reversible when one end of the blade gets blunt). --Robert Merkel

Not that it really matters but i have a metal Stanley knife with a mult-segment snap-off blade. Made in England. Letstalk 14:51, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

There are so many types of box cutter knifes in the market. According to the news, the hijacker use one with plastic handle, and the razor blade probably were put on after they have boarded.

---

The hijackers were said to have concealed such knives somehow, perhaps in carry-on luggage, made invisible by lying them flat next to some common metal object, such as a can of hair spray.

This is more hassle than needed at the time, non-serrated knives up to four inches long were allowed. I used to personally carry a Gerber multi-tool with a three-inch blade on flights. One time while in a rush I forgot to empty my pockets into my carry-on and triggered the metal detector. After I emptied my pockets into the dish, a security person picked up the tool and opened the blade halfway to check it. She then closed it, handed it to me and waved me on. ---Jagged

I heard on a talk show on KGO radio yesterday. The host said he has a friend who is a knife collector often carry knifes in hand carried bags. He only needs to show them to the security and they passed thru.

---

I moved the Attack-relevant discussion to September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack/Airport security, though I think some of it needs to go in September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack/Hijackers. --The Cunctator

---

IMHO *very* good article on this by Michael Moore at

http://www.michaelmoore.com/2001_0919.html

Does anybody think it would be appropriate to link to this on the page Box-cutter knife? Comments appreciated.

He only touches on the knife issue for about two paragraphs and the much of the rest of the article does not provide Neutral point of view. In my opinion the article is not appropriate for this entry. --- Jagged

---

Is a box cutter the same thing as a utility knife? Does anybody have a link to an actual photo of a box cutter? I'm still trying to be sure I know what a box cutter really is. chouwalker

---

There's an image of one here. --Koyaanis Qatsi

---

Box cutter = Stanley knife = utility knife = Exacto knife. Any other names people use? --Stephen Gilbert

---

Actually, X-Acto is a registered trademark of the Hunt Corporation and, while the trademark actually covers a range of products, usually refers to a small knife about the size of a pen, with a short (approximately 1"), pointed blade used for arts and crafts work. It is a samller device than a box cutter knife, designed for lighter-weight and higher-precision work. See this page for more on X-Acto brand products.

---

No doubt, but in Fredericton, New Brunswick many people use the term "exacto knife" to refer to utility knives. I don't know how common it is anywhere else; I had never heard it before I moved here. --Stephen Gilbert

---

People use it in North Florida. --Koyaanis Qatsi

---

Another company that makes them is Olfa (Japanese company, I think). They are available at most hardware and department stores in Canada. They have two common sizes: a thin one, black enamel metal handle, about the size of a flat pen. I used to use them in the newspaper business for cutting up copy for pasting onto big proof sheets. Handy, since they were relatively safe to use and the blade can be retracted quickly. The other model is larger, often in a yellow plastic handle and fills a closed fist. These are commonly used as box cutters and for cutting carpet, tiles and other materials. Both knives have replaceable blades that snap off. The larger one, with about 1.5 in. of blade exposed would be an intimidating weapon. People inherently fear razor sharp knives like these. Amazing what the New York terrorist attackers did with about $50 in knives. One thing it did, though, is diminish George Bush's interest in the new flavor of Star Wars anti-missile program. Who gives a damn about the North Koreans now? Looks like George Bush needs an anti-box cutter program instead :-) --Coasting

---

External link to Olfa's site: http://www.olfacutters.thomasregister.com/olc/olfacutters/

Their heavy duty cutters are here: http://www.olfacutters.thomasregister.com/olc/olfacutters/hd.htm

---

---

Not that it matters, but on the West Coast (of the US) I grew up using X-Acto knives for arts and crafts -- little and held like a pen, blade screws in, and utility knives or box cutters for breaking down boxes. I only started calling the things Stanley knives after my Brit husband refused to refer to them as anything else! JHK

In Israel these knives are called Japanese knives. I don't know why; presumably the first knives where imported to Israel from Japan.

Box-cutter knife → utility knife or craft knife

September 11 notwithstanding, AFAIK box-cutter knife isn't a commonly used term. In Britain the term box-cutter knife was unknown before Sept 11 and they are commonly called Stanley knives (after one of the most common manufacturers) and if not then craft knives. I don't know whether craft knife or utility knife is more common elsewhere, but I am assuming that utility knife is more common in the USA given that it is mentioned on the page. Jooler 13:11, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)

• Agree, I'd never heard the word box-cutter before 2001/09/11. --fvw* 13:51, 2005 Jan 12 (UTC)
• This is, as far as I've been able to determine, a dialect variant which, as others point out, was not widely known or used prior to 9/11. No tradesman I've ever met has called it anything but a "razor knife" or a "utility knife" (the latter being strictly more accurate); to suggest that the tool with which they strip 000-gauge copper wire is a "box cutter" would surely seem rather silly to them. Support. ADH (t&m) 17:44, Jan 12, 2005 (UTC)
• Support move to utility knife. Neutrality^talk 21:14, Jan 12, 2005 (UTC)
• Neutral. In the Southern US they are commonly referred to as "box cutters". I've never heard anyone refer to them as anything else, but I assume this is a colloqualism. Kaldari 22:39, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)
  • I worked with electricians in Texas for a number of years, and never once heard this. At any rate, I'm sure a more generic name is preferable. ADH (t&m) 22:51, Jan 12, 2005 (UTC)
• Support: Google has 300,000+ hits on "utility knife" but just over 1,600 for "box-cutter knife" and "box cutter" at just over 50,000 hits. I think there's little question to what the common name is. Move to "utility knife" and redirect others to it. Cburnett 22:56, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)
• Support. violet/riga (t) 22:58, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)
• Support rename to utility knife -- Netoholic @ 03:04, 2005 Jan 13 (UTC)
• Support - Solipsist 10:57, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)
• Support to ‘utility knife’, with a corresponding rewrite of the article. — Ford 23:12, 2005 Jan 13 (UTC)
• Never heard of "utility knife" (is there such a thing this side of the Pond?) - don't move it there - "Stanley knife" would be best, if not there "craft knife". jguk 23:16, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)
  • And I've never heard of a "Stanley knife," but I assume it's akin to calling sidecutting pliers "Kleins"—inaccurate at best, and we have a convention against furthering genericized trademarks. I don't like "craft knife" either, as the heavier-duty versions of this tool are used for anything but crafting. ADH (t&m) 23:51, Jan 13, 2005 (UTC)

Stanley knives are made in the USA :http://www.contractorstools.com/stanley1.html — Perhapse "Retractable knife" would be better? In the UK "stanley knife" is used for a knife with the blade as shown in the link (and described in the article requested to be moved). The lighter ones with segmented blades that can be snap off as the leading edge gets blunt are called craft or modelling knives. "Stanley knife" like hover is a brand name which has become a generic name in the UK. Here is another use for such a knife which has been around since the 70s or before in Britian (note the dule blade upgrade) http://www.twochapstalking.com/dictarchive/000153.html because in court it is a GBH offence not attempted murder to have been nicked (arrested) while using one on a person. --Philip Baird Shearer

• Support To me a craft knife or hobby knife is the generic term for an X-acto knife, the pencil-shaped metal handle with small replacable blades. Utility knife is the right name for the heavy-duty, plastic-handled, break-off blade knife. Although colloquially, here in Canada, it's just as often called by the brand name Olfa knife. —Michael Z. 16:43, 2005 Jan 14 (UTC)
• Support a move to utility knife. There IS something that is specifically a box-cutter knife, but what is described on this page is a utility knife, not that. A box cutter, as I've seen them, is a thin, flat knife back designed to hold single-edged razor blades. The handle part of it slides down to cover the blade when not in use. I used them as a teenage supermarket employee. —Morven 17:00, Jan 14, 2005 (UTC)
• Oppose. It looks as if I am a bit late in the day to come in with an oppose vote, but I think there may be room for separate articles. Like Morven, I used them on my Saturday job at Sainsburys and – although box-cutter is new terminology to me – I can see that there might be a distinction. It seems there's quite a lot to say about knives, and there may be room for separate articles in the fullness of time. I would have thought that a box-cutter knife would be a Stanley knife with a hooked blade, but there doesn't seem to be a clear opinion in the minimal research I've done so far. Noisy | Talk 20:11, Jan 14, 2005 (UTC)
• Either move it to Stanley knife or leave it where it is. The most famous reference to this kind of knife was its conjectured use as an offensive weapon in some fairly recent hijacking incidents. The phrase used was "box-cutter knife". A Brit who needs to know what that phrase means needs to be able to find out that it's just a Stanley knife. So leave it where it is. -Tony Sidaway|Talk 00:38, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)
  • If that is the argument, can anyone verify that the supposed weapon of September 11 was one of the items pictured on the page? — Ford 19:28, 2005 Jan 15 (UTC)
  • I don't believe the weapons in question were recovered; presumably descriptions came from some of the passengers who used airphones or even cellphones to communicate with the ground. The phrase was "box-cutter knife" and sometimes "plastic knife". Apparently Ashcroft used both phrases in a September 15, 2001 interview with ABC News. --Tony Sidaway|Talk 14:28, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)
    • You are arguing against your own point, I’m afraid. Since we don’t know that the knives used were the knives pictured, we are not helping inform our British friends by directing them to a page that may but probably does not depict them. — Ford 00:30, 2005 Jan 18 (UTC)
    • The actual knives used, if any, are irrelevant. The knives that were claimed to have been used were box-cutter knives. Thus it makes sense to keep the article where it is, because this kind of knife was made famous by the claim that knives of this type had been used to hijack a jet. --Tony Sidaway|Talk 13:11, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)
      • Missed the point again. I have lived all over the US, and have never heard the things in the article called “box-cutter knives”. The one on the left is a mat knife, if anything. The one on the right is a utility knife. If the people on the plane said that the hijackers used “box-cutter knives”, they were probably referring to the razor-blade devices that Morven describes, because otherwise the passengers (Kaldari’s comments notwithstanding) would probably have called them something else. The passengers, in all probability, were not even claiming that the hijackers were using one of the knives in the article, because they would not have made a claim, true or false, using such unusual language. The article is misleading. — Ford 01:51, 2005 Jan 19 (UTC)
• Support move to utility knife. Jonathunder 03:50, 2005 Jan 15 (UTC)
• Support move to utility knife. Never heard "box cutter" before 9/11, never heard "Stanley knife" before reading this discussion. -- Cyrius|✎ 01:44, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Reinstated "box cutter" in the text

The move has happened, but in eliminating the term box cutter from the text we violate the principle of least astonishment. So I've put it back as an alternative name.

If this isn't what is meant by a box cutter, then we should change the redirect. Andrewa 03:02, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Self Injury

Anybody think we should put in a paragraph how it is commonly used (and very succesfully might I add) for self injuring? I personally use it all the time and I know many others who love using it too. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.244.187.65 (talk) 00:00, 5 April 2007 (UTC).

Ok, I added a little bit of info on it...any of yall can go ahead edit it or whatever.

Who invented this in the first place?

After reading this part:

"In Israel and Switzerland, these knives are known as Japanese knives."

I just remembered that the boxcutter was invented by a Japanese person who was trying to figure out a way to keep using blades without making them dull and without having to import more expensive quality knives overseas. Didn't want to add that in because for the life of me I can't remember who invented it or where I read that from. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.108.139.192 (talk) 00:09, 11 July 2008 (UTC)