IRWINUtility Knife, Self-Retracting for Safety (2088600), Red

Having read the previous very negative review, I almost elected not to order this cutter. My job requires daily and frequent use of a box cutter to first open and later cut apart cardboard cases containing wine and spirits bottles. I like the knives with self-retracting blades for safety. Many of the self-retracting blade box cutters available use proprietary blades which must be purchased from the cutter's manufacturer (note high cost per blade). I have researched, purchased at my own expense, and tested on the job over a dozen such designs. Every single one of these uses poor quality metal in their blades such that they dull very quickly and will not "take" a fresh sharp edge (I use a small diamond coated steel rod sharpener that fits nicely in my tool pouch alongside of the cutter; several nice diamond sharpeners available on Amazon). These cutters are engineered specifically to make it IMpossible to use any other replacement blade except the poor quality one offered by the cutter's maker. For several years, I have used a Stanley box cutter with self-retracting blade. It is a fairly simple design, all metal construction with nice heft, uses ANY standard utility knife blade, and has been a true work horse for me. The only thing I have wanted to see improved about the Stanley is the process of changing the blade after several quick resharpenings. That process requires use of a phillips screw driver and you run the risk each time of dropping and losing the special size and shape screw. Always on the lookout for a better box cutter, I did a search on Google and found the Tajima VR-103 Self-Retracting One Piece Utility Knife sold by Amazon. I was surprised by the greater than $20 price each, but it looked so good that I ordered two of them on SEPT 25th. To date, OCT 24th they have still not shipped and I am an Amazon Prime member. More recently, I came across this Irwin box cutter. I order one late evening on OCT 20th and it arrived today, OCT 24th. This cutter is quite similar to my old faithful Stanley. The Irwin is all metal with similar heft. It is true that there is no blade in the internal slide carriage when you receive the Irwin knife, but one must open the knife to remove the retail display card, and this should lead to the discovery to two blades that are stored inside the knife in a very well engineered space near the rear of the handle. These spare blades are held in place by an easily controlled spring lever not visible from the outside of the knife. The spring lever holds them quite firmly so they do not move about during use of the cutter. The two blades included have blunted points which I suppose is in keeping with the increased safety nature of the cutter's design. I do not care for the blunted point blades, so I immediately replaced them with standard point utility blades. No problem, the sliding carriage and the internal storage area both accept the standard point standard size utility knife blades. The retracting spring on the Irwin blade carriage is very slightly less vigorous than the corresponding spring on my Stanley, but otherwise just fine. As for changing the blade, the no lose screw works well. You back it out far enough to Separate the two halves of the knife handle, but the screw remains affixed to one of the halves. I should note that this screw on the Irwin cutter I received does not match the photo on Amazon. The photo shows what appears to be a metal bail handle on the screw head. It appears that this bail may be rotated to one side to reduce the profile of the head of the screw. The unit I received has a different design to the screw head. No moving part (bail). Instead, the screw has a single flat wing crossing the full diameter of the screw head. That makes it about 1/2" long. It is at least one eighth inch thick, and about 3/16" to 1/4" high. It is a fixed shape. It does offer a good gripping feature to control and rotate the screw without any need for tools. I thought it might get in the way of gripping the knife during use, but I tested it in all three grips I use the most and, if anything, it actually makes it easier to gain a well controlled grip on the knife. At less than one third the cost of the Tajima VR-103, this Irwin does everything I wanted. I guess I'll leave the order for the two Tajima units active; delivery of those is now projected for Monday, OCT 29. I'll try to leave feedback about the Tajima design, if I have time, but difficult to imagine them being three times better than this excellent Irwin utility knife.

Good safety box cutter. Perfect for our Food Pantry crew.

I used this same model at my old job. It is comfortable enough to use for long durations. The handle is easily taken apart to change blades but doesn't come apart while in use. The spring that retracts the blade isn't too heavy so it is easy to use but it doesn't allow the blade to slide out while not in use.

I drive a forklift in a warehouse. I use a knife to cut plastic wrap off of pallets of product. Out of all the brands/types I've tried, this is my favorite. I like the auto retractable blade. I can whip it out of my pocket, push the blade out to cut the wrap and quickly drop the knife back into my pocket without fear of the blade cutting me. It can take a beating too. Other brands would break if dropped. The Irwin safty blades are fantastic also. Super sharp and long lasting when compared to others.

this works well. i love the retractable feature so safe reasons. wish the blade came out a little more but overall, it's great and i use it weekly

Safe to use, the screw knob prevents it from coming apart and spilling sharp blades.

I generally dislike writing a negative product review, but in this case I feel that I must. Over the past several years I have bought at least four (4) standard non-retractable Irwin utility knives, and they are excellent. The weight, the ergonomics, blade extension and retraction, blade storage, all are fine. They are my go-to utility knives, and have served me well for years.But a week ago one of these excellent knives slipped from my hand and fell point down, like a javelin, onto (actually into) the top of my left foot. Needless to say I bled copiously. So, it seemed reasonable to replace these knives with Irwin's retractable version. Good idea, very poor implementation.A pair of Irwin retractable knives arrived yesterday, and I immediately tried to put them to use. Nothing went well. First, the internal spring clip that secures the extra blades in the body of the knife is so stiff and hard to bend that I had difficulty removing the blade that came with the knife, and even greater difficulty flexing the spring clip back enough to add two more spare blades.After I had inserted the blade in the slide portion of the knife, and closed and secured the two sides, I immediately noticed that this knife is very uncomfortable to hold. It is about 1/2-inch shorter that the non-retractable version and does not fit well in my hand (I do not have large hands).When I tested blade extension with my right thumb, the blade extended and retracted as expected, and all seemed well. But when I tried to actually use the knife to take down a large corrugated box, I found the slider button was too small, too smooth, and poorly shaped. When trying to keep the blade extended using that small, smooth button, I found that I had to concentrate on keeping pressure on the slider just to keep the blade extended, and not on cutting the corrugated box I was taking down.Remember that there is NO DETENT to keep the blade extended, because this is a self-retracting knife. One must keep a constant pressure against that slider button, or the blade will retract in the middle of a cut. But the slider button is too smooth, and badly shaped. The corrugated box was reasonably heavy stock, and I could not even shift my grip on the knife without having the blade snap back unexpectedly. I do understand hat there must be a trade-off between convenience and safety, but a better-shaped extension button would go a long way toward making these knives more usable, without compromising safety.IMO there is no reason why that knob cannot be shaped with a higher, slightly curved and knurled back surface, against which one's thumb could press when using the knife. As it is, I consider these knives dangerous because the user's concentration is divided between trying to keep the blade properly extended, and the job at hand.Please understand that my comments apply only to the self-retracting Irwin utility knife. The non-retractable Irwin utility knives are excellent.R

Nice knife, wish it was easier to replace blades