How To Choose A Safety Box Cutter

When you think of the basic tools you could have in your tool box; hammer, screwdriver, pliers, etc., you might not think of including the ordinary box cutter. However, this is a must tool to have. From opening the obvious box to freeing your kid's toy from every parent's arch nemesis, the plastic claim shell package, the box cutter has found hundred of uses on the job and in every room of the house.

When you think of a box cutter, what may come to mind is a single sided razor blade that is held securely by an inexpensive metal holder. Although this type of cutter is readily available, it may not be your best choice to buy and use.

The number one issue with all cutters is safety, more importantly the lack of safety. Thousands of work related injuries are reported each year based on users cutting themselves because of exposed blades. Injury claims on the job not only causes pain and suffering of the injured worker, but it also causes hardship on the injured employee's company in lost time and medical claims. It's the same issue at home when cutters are left on countertops or workbenches with the blade exposed for little hands to find.

Manufacturers of cutters realize today that safety is the number one concern of users. They have responded by designing various ways to keep the benefits of using a cutter but minimally expose the user to the cutter's blade. In essence, a safety cutter. So how do you keep the benefits of a cutter and take away the safety issue? Turn to cutters that have the feature of an automatically retractable blade.

When using a safety cutter with an automatically retractable blade, the cutter itself ensures the blade returns to its protective sheath when the user completes their cut. This allows the user to perform their cutting task and then place the cutter down on their working surface or into their pocket without the danger of being cut by an exposed blade.

In choosing a safety cutter, make sure the cutter matches your job requirements. For example, not all safety cutters are designed for heavy duty use. If your cutting requirements demand cutting heavy rope or tough materials, choose a cutter that is designed for this purpose. This ensures the cutter will perform as expected keeping you and others safe.

If your cutting requirements include cutting packaging tape, boxes, bags, twine, toy packaging, etc, then you can use a safety cutter designed for light or medium duty use. These cutters are generally less expensive than heavy duty cutters and are smaller and less weight. This is a big plus when you are cutting materials for long periods of time and hand fatigue turns into repetitive motion hand pain at the end of the day.

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