Slice ceramic utility knives

[FireDragon76]

I like to collect knives and try new things, and I saw these utility knives on Amazon last month. They are being marketed heavily to companies interested in cutting down on box-cutter related injuries. I have never used a ceramic knife before and I open alot of boxes from Amazon, so the knives intrigued me. So, I ordered a few to try out.

The designs work very well for their intended purpose, which is to cut taped boxes open. The default blades have rounded tips which the company says are more durable, but pointed tips are also available. The blades aren't so sharp that you couldn't touch them safely, and they do appear less likely to cut yourself if you were to slip. The small carton cutter has only 1/4 blade exposure, which isn't really enough to cut open a box, so I think this one is a pass, but the pen-style cutter has a 1/2 blade exposure, which is sufficient. I also purchased a Wescott cutter that uses the Slice blades and it also works very well and has an automatic blade retraction, though it isn't made from G-10, unlike many of the Slice cutters.

However, these knives do not cut paper well and they aren't going to replace a pocket knife for everyday carry. But they are useful tools for opening packages and padded envelopes, and I could see how they would be very beneficial for a business that is seeking to reduce injuries.

 

[unwisefool]

I guess if you have a job opening a lot of boxes, those would be good. If I only had a few to open, I'd rather just use the knife in my pocket.

Do you feel that the ceramic lasts longer than regular steel utility blades?

 

[FireDragon76]

OK, thanks for the warning.

Here is a pic of the pen slicer. The build quality is very good, but the price is also commensurate with that.

And here's the Wescott version. The body of the cutter is made out of ABS plastic and it isn't as easy to change the blade:

And here's the carton cutter. I haven't really found a practical use for this one, the blade exposure is simply too small to open anything but thin tape on packages you might buy at a store. Your standard generic carton cutter works much better, even if this one will probably never cut you:

I like the ceramic blades enough that I plan to get a ceramic folding knife to carry as an EDC. Some are inexpensive enough that not being able to sharpen them isn't really an issue, as the knife essentially becomes disposable. You can't really cut hard stuff with them, but these blades are fine for cutting through paper, thin plastic, or twine.

 

[unwisefool]

I like the ceramic blades enough that I plan to get a ceramic folding knife to carry as an EDC. Some are inexpensive enough that not being able to sharpen them isn't really an issue, as the knife essentially becomes disposable. You can't really cut hard stuff with them, but these blades are fine for cutting through paper, thin plastic, or twine.

Would you still carry a steel blade knife along with the ceramic folder or just the ceramic?

 

[FireDragon76]

Would you still carry a steel blade knife along with the ceramic folder or just the ceramic?

I'd probably just stick to one ceramic knife. But if you are cutting heavier material on a regular basis, it's probably not a good idea.

More experimentation with ceramic folders is going to be necessary to say for sure, though.

 

[Hickory n steel]

In my opinion a safe knife is a sharp knife.
These dull ceramic " safety " blades will only have you working harder if you need to actually break down a box and I'll bet one is more likely to cut themselves in struggling to use this thing than they would effortlessly using a real blade that is sharp.

 

[FireDragon76]

In my opinion a safe knife is a sharp knife.
These dull ceramic " safety " blades will only have you working harder if you need to actually break down a box and I'll bet one is more likely to cut themselves in struggling to use this thing than they would effortlessly using a real blade that is sharp.

That's the conventional wisdom but I've gotten some bad cuts over the years from razor-sharp knives. Deep and hard to stop the bleeding.

I think it's best to just have a knife that's appropriate for the task. If you are opening boxes that are taped together, these ceramic blades are capable of doing the job. Instead of cutting into the tape as much as a razor-sharp blade would, the tape "explodes" with light pressure, but it gets the job done. I've never felt like the blades were particularly dull given the design of the box cutters (with the exception of the carton cutter). They seem to do some kind of magic with the blade grind.

 

[afishhunter]

I could see how they would be very beneficial for a business that is seeking to reduce injuries.

An even better way for businesses to reduce injuries from using a utility knife/box cutter, is to refrain from hiring morons, and teach the morons they already have how to use them.

 

[FireDragon76]

Would you still carry a steel blade knife along with the ceramic folder or just the ceramic?

I got a Bone Collector ceramic blade folding knife off eBay. Two in fact, one is pink metal scales with a white blade, the other is black with faux carbon fiber scales. The blade seems fairly sharp (no axe grinds like the Slice cutters) and doesn't have much of a problem opening bubble-wrapped envelopes.

The blades are light and that does effect the balance holding it in your hand.

Both have gritty action, for some reason. PTFE dry lube seems to help, but I suspect oil might work out better. I might try disassembling them just to relube the parts with grease.

 

[Smiling]

I see it as snowflake version of boxcutter.

Not very sharp despite being ceramic, not very durable either, no pointy tip which has to be the pinnacle... and they are probably more expensive than good old boxcutter too. And how will you unpack plastic bag with nylon wrap on the inside with that rounded tip is beyond me.
It probs won't be as effective at cutting cardboard either since it's fairly dull as you stated, and probably lots thicker than your standard boxcutter since ceramic is more brittle than steel.


If you want one as a toy, I understand.

But I don't really see a point of buying these, except making company CEO's buy these for their employees. They aren't the ones who will have to use it, and they bite the story they will save some money by reducing injury rates (which can probs be reduced by work safety, or not overworking people to the point their concentration drops).

 

[unwisefool]

I got a Bone Collector ceramic blade folding knife off eBay. Two in fact, one is pink metal scales with a white blade, the other is black with faux carbon fiber scales. The blade seems fairly sharp (no axe grinds like the Slice cutters) and doesn't have much of a problem opening bubble-wrapped envelopes.

The blades are light and that does effect the balance holding it in your hand.

Both have gritty action, for some reason. PTFE dry lube seems to help, but I suspect oil might work out better. I might try disassembling them just to relube the parts with grease.

Let's see some pics!

 

[FireDragon76]

The pink knife looks a bit more eye-catching with the white blade. The action is gritier than my other ceramic knife, but it's improving. It just has nylon washers and a ball bearing detent. I don't have the right tools to really take it apart for lubing, so I use the lube + compressed air trick.

 

[marcinek]

I see it as snowflake version of boxcutter.

I'm not following. What do you mean by "snowflake version"?

 

[Smiling]

I'm not following. What do you mean by "snowflake version"?

Toy-like looking, and can't be used for anything except intended purpose, while not being particularly good at that purpose either.
Basically a tool with it's functionality being compromised in favor of making it as safe as possible (A.K.A can't harm yourself or anyone with it even if you try to).

It is a good thing for children tho, or as I said, if he wants to have them just for fun.

If you ever had to use any of those self retracting blades at work you'd know it's a pain to use, not very functional, and it performs way worse than regular boxcutter.
Not to mention that they get dull extremley fast if they are metal, and then you have tiny dull blade you can't even replace, and it utterly sucks if you have to cut any solid quality cardboard with it, or thicker plastic wrap...

To me it sounds insane that they would design something way more complicated than regular boxcutter, more expensive than boxcutter, which performs les efficient than boxcutter. Not to mention that boxcutter is pretty harmless at a first place.

 

[FireDragon76]

Toy-like looking, and can't be used for anything except intended purpose, while not being particularly good at that purpose either.
Basically a tool with it's functionality being compromised in favor of making it as safe as possible (A.K.A can't harm yourself or anyone with it even if you try to).

It is a good thing for children tho, or as I said, if he wants to have them just for fun.

If you ever had to use any of those self retracting blades at work you'd know it's a pain to use, not very functional, and it performs way worse than regular boxcutter.
Not to mention that they get dull extremley fast if they are metal, and then you have tiny dull blade you can't even replace, and it utterly sucks if you have to cut any solid quality cardboard with it, or thicker plastic wrap...

To me it sounds insane that they would design something way more complicated than regular boxcutter, more expensive than boxcutter, which performs les efficient than boxcutter. Not to mention that boxcutter is pretty harmless at a first place.

People optimize knife designs for all sorts of purposes and design parameters, why is safety any less legitimate?

 

[Arathol]

People optimize knife designs for all sorts of purposes and design parameters, why is safety any less legitimate?

Nothing to do with safety, everything to do with political correctness and limiting legal exposure.
The only reason that any company does stuff like this is to prevent the inevitable lawsuits filed by the idiots of the world after they cut themselves or somebody else with a "dangerous tool" that was given to them to use as part of their job responsibilities.

 

[Smiling]

People optimize knife designs for all sorts of purposes and design parameters, why is safety any less legitimate?

It is not illegitimate, but it's executed in such way to have negative impact on functionality.

It also has more to do with political correctness than safety.

If you ever had to work with these you'd know how difficult it is and how frustrating these things are...

They should spend more time teaching people common sense than designing such things.

Know the "Don't try to fix it if it isn't broken"?
Well, this applies here, good old boxcutter still works better than any of these toys...

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

It's worth noting that while ceramic has excellent resistance to abrasive wear, it has almost zero resistance to brittle fracture, so if you end up cutting through tape that has some box staples under it you're probably going to mangle the blade.

 

[marcinek]

It is not illegitimate, but it's executed in such way to have negative impact on functionality.

It also has more to do with political correctness than safety.

Toy-like looking, and can't be used for anything except intended purpose, while not being particularly good at that purpose either.
Basically a tool with it's functionality being compromised in favor of making it as safe as possible (A.K.A can't harm yourself or anyone with it even if you try to).

Wait...it is the politically correct "snowflakes" or "big business" responsible for this?

 

[marcinek]

People optimize knife designs for all sorts of purposes and design parameters, why is safety any less legitimate?

Why the next thing you know they will be making locking folders because of these snowflakes!