A utility knife includes a handle base and a neck connected to the handle base for pivotal movement relative to the handle base between a closed position and an open position. The knife also includes a utility blade holder slidingly carried by the neck for sliding movement relative to the neck between a retracted position and an extended position. A utility blade is carried by the blade holder such that movement of the utility blade holder between its extended and retracted positions moves the utility blade between an exposed position in which a cutting edge of the blade is exposed, and a protected position in which the cutting edge of the blade is protected by the neck.

Folding knife embodiments are disclosed herein comprising a blade operable to pivot relative to a handle, between an open position and a closed position, about a pivot axis extending through a tang portion of the blade having at least one locking recess. The knife can have a locking mechanism comprising a rod that extends along the pivot axis through the tang portion and a locking member coupled to the rod which engages the at least one locking recess of the tang portion when the blade is in at least one of the open position or the closed position. The knife can further comprise a push button coupled to the rod, wherein depression of the push button is configured to eject the locking member from the locking recess in the blade, thereby unlocking the blade.

A folding knife can include a handle portion, a pivot element, a blade, a locking element, a cap, and a rotatable wheel. The handle portion can comprise a first side portion and a second side portion. The blade can pivot about the pivot element between an open position and a closed position. The locking element can prevent disassembly of the first and second side portions when the locking element is in a locked position and allow disassembly of the first and second side portions when the locking element is in an unlocked position. The cap can be coupled to the first side portion adjacent the locking element. The pivot element can extend into the cap. The rotatable wheel can be disposed between the first and second side portions and can rotated to selectively retain the first and second side portions together.

A folding knife including a handle rotatably coupled to a blade through a connecting portion of the latter; the blade being adapted to rotate about a rotation axis with respect to the handle between at least a first position, in which it is extracted from the handle, and a second position, in which it is at least partially housed in the handle. Specifically, the folding knife includes a slider element associated with the blade through a connecting element so as to actuate the rotation of the blade, and the handle includes a guide slit formed facing the connecting portion having a shape of an arc of circumference concentric to the rotation axis, wherein the guide slit is adapted to be slidably engaged by the slider element so as to actuate the rotation of the blade between the first position and the second position.

A folding knife has an elongated frame defining a major plane and having a pivot element at a pivot end and defining a pivot axis and the frame defining a blade receptacle, an elongated blade occupying the major plane having a tip end and a base end, a spine edge and a cutting edge, and opposed major faces, the base end connected to the pivot element, the blade being operable to pivot between a stowed position in which the blade is received in the blade receptacle and an extended position in which the tip end of the blade extends away from the frame, and the blade having a lock feature proximate the base end, a button lock element connected to the frame proximate the pivot element and operable to selectably engage the lock feature when the blade is in the extended position.

Presented embodiments of the handheld cutting tool are capable of cutting in one of two ways: with the cutting edge of the blade only so as to minimize damage to objects not intended to be cut or, alternately, with the point of the blade as with more typical knives. The tool is comprised predominantly of a handle body, a blade holder and a rotational control assembly for allowing the blade holder to rotate. The blade holder holds either a replaceable isosceles trapezoid utility blade or replaceable single edge razor blade and has, in some embodiments, a portion that isolates parts of the blade from objects not intended to be cut. The rotational control assembly enables the blade holder to rotate between retracted and a plurality of extended positions thus permitting the blade holder to deploy the blade at various angles to facilitate proper cutting of materials.

Systems, methods, and apparatus are described for a locking folding knife having a handle lock and a safety switch arranged around and rotatable around a pivot axis of the knife. In an engaged position the switch overlaps at least a portion of the handle lock and prevents it from moving into an unlocked position. A spring, such as a wire form spring, can be arranged within a pocket of the switch, and when the switch is moved between engaged and disengaged positions the spring can be compressed generating a rotational bias on the switch urging the switch toward either the engaged or disengaged position.

A folding knife has ambidextrously accessible trigger mechanism for releasing the blade from its open and locked position so that it may be moved to the closed position, and when the knife is fitted with an automatic opening mechanism, for releasing the blade from its closed and locked position to the open and locked position. When the blade reaches the open position a novel locking mechanism securely locks the blade open. The trigger mechanism comprises a button on each side of the knife handle. The user may fire the automatic opening mechanism by depressing either the right or left hand trigger button, or both simultaneously. The release mechanism may be incorporated in an auto-assist or manual knife. The locking mechanisms described herein may be incorporated into a manual opening knife or a knife with an auto-assist opening mechanism and in all cases, the knife incorporates a locking mechanism that locks the blade open in a highly secure manner.

A utility knife including a handle, a blade, a first blade holder, and a spare blade holder. The spare blade holder is pivotal with respect to the handle between an open position where the recess is exposed to allow a spare blade to be removed from the spare blade holder and a closed position where the recess is within a slot of the handle to inhibit removal of the spare blade from the spare blade holder. The spare blade holder further including a cam surface and the cam surface of the spare blade holder engages a cam surface of the handle when the spare blade holder is in the closed position to urge the spare blade holder in a direction from a first longitudinal side of the handle toward a second longitudinal side of the handle to allow the first blade holder to pivot between extended and folded positions.

A decoupled lock is disclosed. One embodiment provides a knife having a handle pivotably attached to a knife blade, the knife blade having a closed position within the handle and an open position extended from the handle, and a decoupled lock having a blade engagement portion to lock the blade and a user interface portion to disengage the blade engagement portion, wherein the blade engagement portion is biased toward a locked position and the user interface portion disengages the blade engagement portion when the blade is in the open position and is decoupled from the blade engagement portion with the blade in the closed position. Other embodiments are described herein.